


Isis

by Scribe32oz



Series: Seven Scrolls [20]
Category: Stargate SG-1, The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Brotherhood, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Ensemble Cast, Established Relationship, F/M, Female Character of Color, Female villains, Humor, Interracial Relationship, Male Friendship, Novella, Series, Stargate, Strong Female Characters, Western
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 13:50:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 91,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12842526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribe32oz/pseuds/Scribe32oz
Summary: This is a Stargate/M7 Crossover. When an archaeologist unwittingly discovers a Stargate and excavates it, he allows the Goa’uld passage to Four Corners in search of hosts. As the seven battle a threat beyond their imagining, they discover that not all enemies wear the faces of strangers….





	1. The Lion Goddess

**Author's Note:**

> This can be read as a standalone or part of the series. This is set between Season 3 of Stargate SG1.

 

 

In the later years, the name they gave themselves would be forgotten, lost in time as well as history, becoming just another faded page in a book no longer remembered, existing nowhere. However, for the purposes of the telling, we will call them the Nefertem. They were no different to any of the races that were brought from the mythical First World, whose name they no longer remembered but whose memory burned, forever in their minds. As they emerged into their new world, herded by the Jaffa guards with masks shaped in the visage of the powerful lion, the enslaved would often dream of that lost place where their race had been born.

In time, it would fade in memory even though they still dreamt of cool desert sands and the Nile that glistened under the heat of a yellow sun so different that looming crimson giant that burned fire into their backs with each sunrise. Still deeper and more potent was the memory of the husbands left behind, the sons who were forgotten but remained thick in their hearts, like a viscous fluid that drowned all other considerations with longing. They were a race of women, bred to work, to be subjects to the twin goddesses to whom their entire existence belonged. They knew not if they were the only ones, seeing sisters and mothers who had been taken with them, absent when they finally reached their destination.

The plan of Isis was not for their ears and so question were not asked.

For almost a thousand years, they lived with the Jaffa standing watch over them, using their progeny to perpetuate the cycle of bondage that had been their only existence. All the while the Goddess of All, Isis held absolute power over their entire existence, twisting their lives like they were helpless reeds in the wind. She and her right hand, the dreaded warrior goddess Sekhmet held iron control over every aspect of their lives, creating seeds like their own across a dozen worlds where they shaped a culture where women were many and men were few and kept alive as little more breeding stock. The Nefertem did not know exactly how long they allowed their sons to be butchered for the sin of being male or how many tears had been shed as the male of species were culled. The weak perished while the beautiful and the strong were kept secluded, used only when the need for breeding arose.

As it always happened in the realm of conquerors, it took only one voice at the right time to inspire the flame of rebellion. It began slowly and awkwardly as these things often transpire, with whispers in the dark and eyes cast to the night sky, wondering if there was not more to what they had and was it wrong to dream of it. Soon, the whispers became voices speaking in the dark, not afraid, not alone and united in the belief that in the First World; they had been strong and could be again if only they dared. It took a long time of hiding to build their strength, to understand that their masters were not really Gods to whom they should follow blindly as their predecessors had done.

Throughout history, it is claimed that men are closer to God. This may be true but it woman who understands him best and the Nerfertem understood theirs goddesses better than Isis or Sekhmet believed them capable. Perhaps they were gods, however the Nefertem decided they cared not for the religious validity of it, abandoning ideology for something greater, a unity that convinced them that the soul would find its own place in the afterlife, requiring nothing from the Gods who claimed sovereignty over it. With this new faith in their hearts, the Nefertem prepared to commit the ultimate sacrilege, to renounce the faith and destroy the shackles of the goddesses that had them trapped in a cycle of despair.

Weapons were secreted away, crude but effective. On occasions, the Jaffa weapons were acquired and other pieces of technology that seemed terrifying at first but upon reasonable investigation allowed them to achieve an enlightenment that destroyed whatever hold the Goddesses had upon them with total annihilation. Realising that it was not magic they were seeing, that the wondrous power of Isis, Goddess of All and Sekhmet, Eye of Ra was merely achieved by the tools they possessed, went along way to rallying the remaining stragglers to the cause. Knowing tools, not magic enslaved them, created a surge of independence that broke the back of their conquerors in one resounding roar.

The rebellion came as it inevitably had to with the Jaffa killing many of their numbers but with them also inflicting similar destruction upon the ranks of the Lion guard. With each Jaffa that fell, a rebel warrior would strip the body and the arsenal of staff weapons grew until finally, there were no more Jaffa to fight and the population fell upon the fortress of Isis and breached its formidable walls. The Goddess attempted to escape but the rebels were no fools. To allow Isis and Sekhmet escape might mean allowing them to bring Ra himself into the battle and the Sun God’s power was well known. Many perished in the battle to keep the Lion Goddesses from fleeing but eventually Isis and Sekhmet were captured and confined.

For a time, the Nerfertem were undecided upon how they should deal with the conquerors who had made their lives a hell to be endured for so many their ancestors until the present day. Despite their belief that neither Isis nor Sekhmet possessed magic to destroy them, there was still a kernel of superstition left in them to fear the taking the life of a God, even one as evil as these had been. Instead, a new punishment was invented; one that would see the spilling of no divine blood, thus incurring the wrath of any higher power that might sit in judgement over their actions.

The fortress in which Isis and Sekhmet had ruled for so long was mostly below ground for Isis often spoke that she was the Goddess of the earth and so kept her domicile deep within its soil. For ten days and nights as it was written in the books that the Nerfertem children would some day read in schools, the rebels cleared everything of value within the labyrinth like walls of the underground building. The tools that made Isis and Sekhmet rulers of their world and their races were removed with the exception of the sarcophagus that would keep them alive no matter how much time had passed, keeping their bodies fresh and alive for all time.

It was not left as a kindness.

When the fortress was finally cleared of its treasure, every orifice that may be used as a route of escape was summarily sealed except for one. Etched in stone, the warning on the last remaining opening was a message not only to those who would come after them but also a reminder of what had been achieved on this day. Kicking and screaming, Isis and Sekhmet were lowered into their final resting-place and sealed inside for all eternity. The rebels who moved the cover stone into place and entombed the Goddess of All and the Eye of Ra within their stone burial place, heard the angered screams of outrage and vengeance as the last crack disappeared and brought with it silence.

No one ever returned to the place after the deed was done.

Children would sometimes dare each other to approach it, only to be forced away by the sounds of screaming and clawing of nails against rock as if something within was demanding escape. After awhile the sounds withered away and time for the Nerfertem continued on its singular pace. Eventually the scars of Isis and Sekhmet were forgotten and their legend descended into folklore even though their final resting-place was still forbidden territory. The race continued with both genders taking equal participation in the development of a civilisation devoid of Jaffa minders and divine rulers whom dictated how they ought to live. They progressed well in their world, which they eventually called Thebes because that had been their point of origin when their ancestors had been taken from the First World.

Almost a thousand years had passed after the burial of Isis and Sekhmet had come to pass when the Nerfertem, a race that had now moved into its own space age came to an unhappy discovery about their world. For the past hundred years or so, the temperature had begun to soar. Oceans were drying up and deforestation was taking place on a global scale. They tried valiantly to fight it, using all their accumulated knowledge of science to stop the inevitable but eventually, there was no denying it. The crimson around which they drew life was dying. Solar flares had began lashing the planet, killing whole cities in one devastating surge of heat and nuclear intense fire. Although they were a space faring race, they had not the technology to move a million people to another world.

Thus for the first time in almost a thousand years, the Nefertem turned to the Stargate for their salvation. Until now, the gate had been largely ignored mostly out of old superstition that none of them would admit to but felt inside their bones no matter how comforting the notion of science and logic might be. The gate had been dismantled out of fear that Ra’s minions would come in search of Isis and Sekhmet and put an end to the precious freedom so many of them had died to win. However, with the eminent destruction of their world an ever-looming threat that could no longer be ignored, scientists began assembling the gate and made it functional again.

The task of moving an entire population of one million people through the gate to colonise a New World, took approximately two years to complete. By then, the solar flares had devastated much of the surface, driving the last remnants of the Nerfertem underground as they continued working tirelessly, sending everyone through until the last human passed through the gate and the Thebes became a world abandoned to the coming disaster.

No one remembered Isis, Goddess of All or Sekhmet, Eye of Ra.


	2. Resurrection

 

_**Four Corners, New Mexico – 1879** _

As a general rule, mornings in the Larabee household were nowhere this hectic. However, when one had a wife who happened to be the editor of the Clarion News and a son who was readying himself for the school day, Chris Larabee decided that it could be forgiven that pandemonium was presently running riot through his house. The gunslinger and lawman watched his wife with mild fascination, the same way a man watching a twister across the desert might be mesmerised by the awesome fury of nature at its most prolific. At the moment, there was little difference between the two as cyclone Mary rampaged through the kitchen like a blur of colour with the soft rustle of her skirt following her around as she moved to the music playing inside her mind.

Chris chose to stay out of harms way, taking position at the head of the kitchen table, nursing his cup of coffee as he watched her moving through the room, running from little task to another. He pondered briefly how she managed to keep it all in memory, the things she had to do. Finally, Chris decided that it was one of those secrets known only to women and incomprehensible to men in general, even if they were so kind as to explain it, which they were not.

Mary was busily preparing breakfast and Chris savoured the aroma of eggs sizzling on the pan, along with the tasty smell of sausages cooking in its fat that seemed to seep into the walls of the kitchen and would remain there for most of the morning. It was a good smell, Chris had readily decided. It reminded him of all things wonderful and warm about his life in this house. His best memories of Sarah had been of the food she cooked and how it would travel through the house and remind him the moment he walk through the door that she was waiting for him. He was pleasantly surprised when the memory returned to him following the first morning of his married life to Mary Travis, reminding him in that overwhelming scent of hot coffee and warm breakfast that things had finally righted themselves in his universe.

She paid little attention to him as she worked, her thoughts locked in a place only she could see as she fulfilled each little task in her mind. Still, Chris marvelled at how she could do all the things she did with a pleasant smile of contentment on her face as if everything was under control and it only required her singular concentration for it to remain that way. He sipped his coffee quietly and did not offer to help. He had learnt early on that she preferred him to be just where he was, out of her way so she could get things done.

As Mary had once put to him so clearly, "If I need help, I’ll ask for it."

He supposed that it was her way of keeping her independence, which was very important to her, even though she was a married woman now. Chris could not begrudge her that. His life was one of uncertainty even though he had placed himself in the domesticity of a wife and child, he was a still lawman in Four Corners and that meant death was something he faced daily. Should anything happen to him, Chris did not want Mary as helpless as she had been when Steven Travis had died and left her alone. He continued drinking his coffee, observing silently as she served the hot food onto plates and placed them on the table.

"Chris, put these on the table mats please?" She asked hastily as she headed towards the door of the kitchen and peered up the stairs leading to the upper floor of the house.

"Billy Travis, if I have to tell you again that breakfast is ready, you’ll go to school hungry!" She barked and then turned on her heel and returned to the kitchen. She paused a moment, taking note that Chris was smiling at her.

"What?" She asked suspiciously, wondering what that curious expression on his face was all about.

"Nothing." He shook his head affectionately. "Got a big day planned?"

"Something like that." She found his smile infectious and found one stealing across her face as well as she realised how she must have sounded. He probably thought that she was mad even though his steel coloured eyes twinkled in warm affection. Mary wondered what Chris was thinking when he watched her silently like this, keeping counsel to himself as she flew across the room like a hummingbird, trying to fit so many chores into a few short hours. A lot of the time, Mary believed he was humouring her even though he was never less than encouraging in most of her endeavours, unless he believed that there was some genuine threat to be had.

"Everything will be fine." He assured her as she poured a glass of milk for Billy and placed it next to her son’s plate. "Sit down for a moment and catch your breath. I’ll get Billy to school myself if need be. You do whatever you got to do."

"Thank you," she said gratefully and leaned over to kiss him gently on his lips, wondering how she could have stumbled upon such a wonderful man hidden behind the hardened exterior of a notorious gunslinger. Mary sat down just as they both heard Billy’s heavy footsteps running down the stairs, becoming louder as the boy approached them.

"I’ve got a pie made already," she instructed as she shook her folded napkin out and smoothed it on her skirt as they prepared to eat. "All you have to do is warm it up for lunch. I should be home well before evening so supper is not a problem."

"Okay," he nodded obediently, deciding he might surprise her by getting Inez to do something for that meal to save Mary from the chore when she returned home that evening. "I’ll keep Billy with me for the rest of the day once school is out."

"There’s no need," Mary countered quickly. "Apparently, some of the children are going to the creek after school so I wouldn’t expect him back before supper."

"I’ll be at the jailhouse or the saloon," Chris replied. He knew that she would prefer him to be in town if she was going to be away from it for a few hours, in case of any emergency that might occur with Billy.

Normally, Chris would spend the day out at the shack with Vin and Buck, continuing their work on the new venture of horse ranching. For the last week or two, they had been hard at work building stables and corrals for the horses they had yet to buy and knew that it would not be very long before the venture was up and running. It had been relatively quiet in Four Corners, with no signs of outlaws or any kind of criminal element that might require the attention of all seven lawmen. Of course, there were always routine things that needed taking care of but with careful management, Chris had seen to it that the work was shared evenly. However, with Mary’s trip out of town today, Chris had decided that it might be nice if himself, Buck and Vin took a break from the work.

"Anything interesting or newsworthy I ought to know about?" Mary asked as Billy made his appearance in the room, dressed for school with his books in hand. Good mornings and salutations were traded back and forth as the boy sat at his part of the table and immediately dug into his food with the ravenous frenzy typical of a growing boy his age.

"Not really," Chris answered her question. "Just a few drunks in the tanks according to Josiah. Nothing that’s going to top your story with Doctor Faulkner."

Some weeks ago, a group of travellers had discovered an ancient Indian site that seemed to predate most of the tribes originating in this area. The discovery of the ancient mounds underground had been growing in prominence for some years now, with more and more of these strange constructs being discovered. However, the most recent excavation was nothing like those previous sites as it was almost ten times larger than any mound found and it was almost completely buried underground, as if someone had built a fortress they wished hidden from all eyes. It did not take long for an archaeological team to converge on the site and very soon, large-scale excavation was being conducted under the very tightest rein of secrecy with the press being barred from the site.

Mary, who had an interest in ancient Indian cultures had made a chance meeting with Dr Calvin Faulkner, the head archaeologist at the site and had struck up a conversation with him during a trip into the town by the doctor to get supplies. Faulkner, an elderly man who was impressed by Mary’s genuine interest in the project, since she had more than just a journalist’s curiosity to exploit a story, invited Mary to visit the site and write her story, confident she could do it without sensationalising the entire subject. Chris knew nothing about archaeology or journalism for that matter but he did know that this was a tremendous opportunity for her.

For Mary, it was a chance to write about something exciting and different, not to mention that several major newspapers had approached her about picking up the story and running it in their publications, which further sweetened the whole project. Mary had not felt so inspired by anything she had written since she first started the paper and she was further gratified by how supportive Chris was by the whole thing.

"I guess not." She said feeling a surge of emotion at how wonderful he had been through all this. She had been driving him crazy with research as she formulated notes on the questions she would ask when the time came for the meeting. "Thank for you being so good about this." She replied taking his hand in hers.

"Well," Chris eased back into his chair and remarked with a hint of teasing. "I was just doing it so you’d become this famous writer and I can be a kept man really."

"You’d die of a boredom in week." She giggled.

"I don’t know," Chris disagreed, still indulging the moment of silliness. "Billy and I would find something to do wouldn’t we?"

"We sure will." Billy nodded. "We could go fishing, hunting and all those things people in the big city do."

"Enough!" Mary laughed as the two men in her life enjoyed their little joke enormously. "You’re starting to overwhelm me with pressure."

"You can do it ma." Billy declared with the unabashed honesty that sliced through all her reservations, only a child could deliver so effectively. "Ma can do anything, right Chris?"

"You can’t argue with that." Chris grinned. "He’s a smart kid."

"Naturally," Mary said with a perfectly straight face. "He’s my son."

"I notice that he’s your son when he’s a smart kid and he’s mine when he gets in trouble." Chris pointed out, recalling that he had heard the same words from Sarah about Adam. "You ready for school, pardner?" Chris turned his attention to Billy who was wolfing down his breakfast like he was starving.

"Yep," Billy answered. "Mrs King said we’re going to start a new book today, Peter and the Wolf."

"That’s a good story." Chris agreed, having read it once himself a long time ago "You’ll like it." He told Billy. "It’s about a boy who goes hunting for this wolf."

"How wonderfully gruesome." Mary wrinkled her nose in distaste, wondering what it was with the male psyche that drew such fascination from hunting things down and killing it. "I’ve got to go now if I want to get to the dig early," she said finishing up her breakfast and turning to Billy. "You too Billy." She urged him to finish his meal quickly.

"You go," Chris offered, "I’ll see to it Billy gets to school in plenty of time."

Clearly this was an idea that suited her for she did not reject it immediately and took a moment to consider her answer before replying in the positive. "All right then," she said looking at both husband and son as she planted a kiss on Billy’s forehead and another on Chris’ lips before sailing out of the room. They heard her pause in the hallway where she collected her basket that contained all the things she would need for her sojourn out of town, including a bit of lunch, writing implements and her notes. "I’ll see you for supper. Don’t get into any trouble." She called out.

"We won’t ma." Billy reassured her boisterously.

"See you Mary." Chris made a similar farewell and then looked at Billy with a smile and added in a softer voice. "The only who gets into trouble around here is her."

"I heard that!" She sang out before pulling the door close behind her.

* * *

"Buck," Alexandra Styles said impatiently. "I can’t listen to the baby’s heartbeat if you don’t shut up."

"I just want to know everything is all right." Buck whined as he was forced to stand in the corner of the examination room, hating it that he was forced to remain in place like a misbehaved child. For a moment, Buck had flashbacks of his few years in schools, where being the class clown was not as entertaining to the teacher as it was to his fellow students. Buck had been banished to the corner when both Alex and Inez Recillos had become so annoyed by his hovering as the doctor tried to conduct her fortnightly examination of her patient that it was either that or to be thrown out of the room altogether.

"Buck," Inez glared at him from where she was lying on the examination table. "If I knew you were going to be like this when you first asked me, I would have never have let you come with me for this examination."

"I just want to be apart of it." He complained, digging his hands into his pockets and really feeling like a child now. His curiosity was insatiable in this because both mother and child meant so much to him. He already felt excluded that Inez would not marry him as should have been the proper thing to do with a child coming into this world but he was not about to miss the other aspects of the birth experience. He wanted to be there for Inez in everything, even this because his father had not been and Buck hated the idea of being thought the same way.

"Well you can," Alex replied as she continued her examination. "Just do it quietly, I need to concentrate on what I’m doing." She said as she conducted the standard tests that were required to be performed on a woman in her third trimester. Inez was almost into her eight month of pregnancy and she was no longer able to work in the Standish Tavern, spending most of her time in the kitchen since cooking was the one thing she could still manage without her physical condition hampering her movements.

"So what you doing now?" Buck inquired as he saw Alex wrapping a strange device around Inez’s arm and squeezing air through the rubber tube attached to it.

"Just checking her blood pressure." Alex explained, not minding answering his questions when he was out of the way like this, instead of getting under her feet. The material around Inez’s forearm began to inflate, while at the same time, the part of the device which held its readings was under close scrutiny by Alex.

"Am I okay?" Inez inquired now.

"Yes," the doctor nodded after a moment. "Its always high during pregnancy. Don’t forget, you increase four times the amount of blood normally in your system, which is probably why you feel a little bloated."

"A little?" Inez glanced at her swollen abdomen with sarcasm. "I feel like water buffalo."

"You look like one too." Buck grinned.

"And here I wondered why she hadn’t married you yet," Alex gave him a look. "How can she decide when you’re such a charmer."

"I aim to please." He replied, taking a tentative step closer. "So everything is okay with the baby?" He asked again, trying to hide his concern behind his facetious sense of humour.

"Perfectly normal," Alex answered for his benefit as well as Inez and saw that they both let out a sigh of relief following those reassuring words. "You’re in good shape Inez and the baby’s heart beat is strong."

"You can hear it through that thing?" Buck gestured to the stethoscope hanging around her neck.

"Yes," Alex nodded before a thought came to her. Slipping the device from around herself, she handed it to Buck and instructed him to put it on. "Go ahead," she smiled, knowing that for all his masculine bluster, the pride at being a new father was a genuine feeling for Buck. Holding the other end against Inez’s stomach positioned it carefully so that he could hear the baby clearly.

Buck was not sure what he was listening for, thinking how odd the device felt in his ears at first to appreciate the raspy sounds to be any more than friction of metal against the fabric of Inez’s dress when suddenly it came through like a clap of thunder. Then he heard it; loud and rumbling with a steady rhythm that seemed mire in thick fluid, distant yet so unimaginably close. As he realised he was hearing the tiny heartbeat of his child amplified for his listening pleasure, his face slipped from curiosity into that of wonder.

"I can hear it!" He exclaimed like a child unwrapping a wonderful Christmas present. "I can hear his heartbeat! God it’s so loud!"

"It usually is through the stethoscope," Alex pointed out even though she was pleased at his reaction but not as much as Inez who was trying her hardest to hide the emotion welling in her eyes. Despite her outward ambivalence to Buck at times, Alex could tell that Inez was deeply moved by Buck Wilmington’s efforts to be apart of their child’s life even before its birth. Inez still bore the stigma of being an unwed mother. There were some factions Four Corners’ society that considered her to be little more than a wanton, Inez had survived the trials of her pregnancy because of the friends firmly in her corner and the man who would gladly defend her honour to the death if necessary.

"Hi Darlin’" Vin Tanner announced himself as they heard the front door of the clinic open with the arrival of the tracker.

"Hey Vin!" Buck immediately called out with excitement overflowing from his voice in elation at what he was hearing. "Get over here!"

Vin made his way up the hall after closing the door behind him and appeared a moment later through the partition that separated the examination room from the rest of the floor. He peered cautiously past the canvas first, ensuring that he was not interrupting anything by his sudden appearance. Ever since he walked in on Alex and one of her patients in the early days of their relationship, the tracker had been careful not to simply come barging in on her, having deciding that he never wanted to see another dowager’s bare bottom again.

Vin kissed Alex in greeting upon entry before he turned his attention to his friend whose summons had brought him here. "What’s up Buck?" Vin asked as he approached the tall man who was still transfixed by what he was hearing through the stethoscope.

"You gotta listen to this." Buck declared, pulling the device from his ears and handing it to the tracker so Vin could hear for himself what had captured Buck’s imagination.

"You just have to love his enthusiasm." Alex chuckled as she looked at Inez who was rolling her eyes in resignation at Buck’s enthusiasm.

"What?" Vin asked quizzically as he inserted the buds of the medical instrument into his ears and wrinkled his brow in concentration to order listen to what Buck wanted for him to hear.

"Just shut up and listen." Buck said impatiently, wanting to share his wondrous discovery with everyone and deciding that since that was somewhat impractical, he would have to be content with just Vin for the moment. He had never thought something as simple as hearing an unborn child’s heartbeat could be so amazing but Buck was learning that there was much about himself that he was only now starting to discover thanks to the impending arrival of his child.

"I hear it." Vin said after a second, a faint smile crossing his features as he recognised what it was Buck was trying to impart to him. He met Alex’s gaze and they both shared a moment of warm affection at the life that was forming before them, even if they were not personally responsible for it. Just being apart of the whole thing made the experience all the more special, Vin found himself thinking. "Its amazing." He responded into that too soft voice of his, hinting the awe that remained unspoken by apparent by the sparkle in his cobalt coloured eyes.

"Isn’t it?" Buck grinned. "My sons’ got a heart beat like a stallion."

"Your _son_?" Inez looked at him with amusement. "What makes you think that it’s going to be a boy?" She questioned as Alex gestured that they were done with the examination. She immediately started to move of the table, ending Vin’s session with the stethoscope. The tracker promptly handed the instrument back to Alex as Inez stood up.

"Its gotta be." Buck insisted. "That’s a boy’s heartbeat."

"I think having a daughter ain’t so bad." Vin replied. "So long as she got ten fingers and toes and is all round healthy."

"Which I can safely say it is for the moment," Alex finalised her report for Inez’s benefit. "Whether or not it is a girl or a boy. Just take it easy this last month and don’t stray too far from town. Its not uncommon for you to go into labour prematurely, this being your first child and all."

"God wouldn’t do it to me." Buck retorted, maintaining his abject belief that their child was going to be a boy. "He wouldn’t give me a daughter. I’d have to stand shotgun over her and keep her from every varmint that ever slithered across the Territory. I’d have to keep her safe from…"

"Someone like _you_?" Vin asked with complete innocence even though the mischief was apparent in his eyes.

"Yeah," Buck mused uncomfortably at that possibility. He thought of all the angry encounters he had endured throughout his adult life from angry fathers, some who were so persistent in their determination to save their daughters from ruin and more specifically from him, that they were ready to shoot him. Any daughter of Inez’s would be beautiful and he knew personally how single minded some men were when it came to the chase.

Oh no, he thought to himself, not his daughter. _No way in hell was anyone getting close to her…._

"You done here?" Vin asked Alex, ignoring the troubled look on Buck’s face as the possibility of what having a daughter would mean to him, impressed itself on the Lothario’s mind like nothing before.

"I think so," she answered with a smile, wondering if he had something in mind and so hoping that he did. It was a beautiful morning outside and despite the fact that she ought to be working, Alex would love to spend a day with Vin out of town. "Anything else you want to ask me Inez?" She asked the mother to be who was collecting her basket and the father of her child who was still dazed by the idea of daughter. "Have a good time you two." Inez replied and motioned to Buck to follow. "Come along dad."

"But I don’t know anything about a girl…." Buck replied as he followed Inez out, barely noticing anything else. Inez rolled her eyes and shook her head in resignation, accustomed to all of Buck’s eccentricities by now.

Once Inez and Buck were gone, Alex slid her arms around Vin and returned to his initial inquiry. "Looks I’m free for the day, cowboy. What did you have in mind?" She asked with a suggestive gleam in his eyes.

"Well Chris needs to stay in town today so we won’t be going to the shack," Vin replied, savouring the feel of her against him. They had not had that much of a chance to spend the whole day together lately, what with his obligations to Four Corners as one of its guardians as well as the horse ranching venture that he, Chris Larabee and Buck Wilmington were partners. He missed their rides together and wanted to spend some time alone with her. "I thought we’d take a ride to the river or something." He suggested.

"Or something huh?" Alex beamed, liking that idea a great deal. "I could spend a day doing that." Like Vin, Alex could not remember when was the last time they had spent any quality time together and she looked forward to the day he had planned for them, enough to know that she could leave things in Nathan’s capable hands for awhile. Between Nathan and Rain, Four Corners could afford to be without its resident physician for one afternoon. Besides, when it came down to it, Vin would always come first with Alex and it was with great confidence that she could safely say that it was the same for him too. After almost a year and a half together, their relationship was just as fresh as that curious day when Vin and Alex had first acknowledged how they felt for one another in isolation of Agnes Doherty’s cabin. In the time since then, they had weathered all kinds of storms and Alex had come to the firm conclusion that there was no longer any hurdle that could rip them apart.

Their love for each other was eternal even if they were not.

* * *

**Planet PX250 - 2000**

As planets went, Colonel Jack O’Neill of SGC Team 1 had seen better places to visit since becoming an interstellar traveller.

PX250, as it was uninspiringly called was a hellish world, radiated with a rapidly decaying orbit that was being drawn to a red giant that had successfully rendered the entire planet uninhabitable. A few brave yet futile traces of vegetation still remained on the surface, struggling to survive in the ever increasing heat with no idea that doom was coming for it and the life that had been spawned in the baked soil. The analysis of what remained of the planet’s atmosphere indicated that this was a world once filled with life, with enough pollution in its content to indicate the presence of a civilisation well beyond the nuclear age.

Normally, a world in such a state of ruin would not rate a second glance by the SGC Command, however, the probe sent through the gate had also detected evidence of the highly advanced species that had once been in residence here. Despite the exploratory nature of the SGC, it was still in essence a military body and as such the need for betters weapons to fight the Goa’uld threat took precedence in matters where science ought to be making the crucial decisions. The leavings of a sophisticated society who might have fended off the Goa’uld threat was nothing to dismiss without further investigation and thus armed with radiations suits and Geiger counters, SGC Command sent its best team through the gate.

"Well this is nice." Jack let his gaze sweep across the landscape and found nothing that appeared terribly inviting. In the distance, they could see the silhouette of a city with tall spires and buildings whose architectural design appeared very much Egyptian in its origin.

"Its fascinating." Dr Daniel Jackson remarked, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose as he walked on ahead, seldom considering that it might be dangerous to do so.

Jack had become used to Daniel’s ignorance of military protocol, having to remind himself often that the young man was by nature and trade a scholar, who spent most of his life around books while he in turn had lived his life moving from one covert operation to another. However, despite it being terribly easy to label Daniel as little more than a bookworm, Jack knew from experience that in a fight, Daniel was more reliable than any soldier he had ever served with and an even better friend. They shared a kinship in discovering the secrets of the gate together during that first mission to Abydos and since that moment, the friendship that resulted saw past their differences.

"It’s the first time we’ve seen a truly evolved race that might have originated from the Egyptian pantheon. Normally, the Goa’uld control keeps the culture from developing but this," Daniel regarded the city ahead with almost childish wonder. "This is truly remarkable."

"Well, you’re not wrong there," Major Samantha Carter smiled at Daniel’s youthful enthusiasm not to mention his typical scientific curiosity. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Daniel saw their trips through the gate were not simply missions but scientific expeditions. "It certainly has a high concentration of Naquadah. The readings I get are off the scale. Mostly coming from a north west direction."

The blond woman looked in a direction that was not near the city even though she knew it was where Daniel wish to go the most. However, they could make a survey of the city at another time. At the moment, it was more necessary that they investigated their primary motive for coming here in the first place, the Naquadah. With radiation levels so high, they could not afford to be exposed to this atmosphere for more than a few hours before cellular degradation would began to take effect.

"Perhaps a mine." The final member of SG1 remarked. Teal’c as always said little but saw everything. The former Jaffa was just as fascinated by this world as Daniel himself, noting how it bore familiarities with his own home of Chulok, if had it been free of Apophis’ rule to evolve in its own stead. Like PX250, Chulok was one of the few worlds to maintain an Egyptian influence in its social development and everything from its architecture to its belief reflected the culture that sprung from the banks of the Nile.

"No, the readings don’t seem to be consistent with ore deposits." She paused and looked ahead, as if she could physical see their destination even though it was about a kilometre away from their present location. "It appears refined."

Jack left his team to ruminate as he cast his gaze over the sky and was reminded of the caution received about doing that. Staring at a red giant for too long a period could blind a person. As it was, they were forced to walk around in these cumbersome radiations suits that protected them from radiation but felt like sauna against the skin. He wanted this mission over and done with as quickly as possible. Besides, he was uncomfortable at the look of the sky. Even now, they could see the churning and bubbling heat on the surface of the sun, promising a thousand kinds of death in a nuclear fire. "Let’s just get there and do the survey." Jack growled, feeling the hellish landscape before him affect his mood with just as much turbulence.

"This way," Sam replied, taking the lead since she recognised his tone all too well and knew what concerned him. As the astrophysicist of the group, she more than any of them were aware of the danger in remaining here too long. While she would love to indulge Daniel his desire to further examine the city, she was military too and her conditioning to the complete the mission overrode the scientific considerations.

They crossed the distance to the Naquadah reading in good time, since there was very little in their way to cause delays. There were traces of civilisation all the way to the location, structures that were quickly slipping into complete ruin with the heat and harsh windstorms that scoured the landscape. Natural vegetation and wildlife was all but none existent, the only survivors of the terrible climatic upheaval being no more evolved than lichens and mossy growths that required little water to survive. Most of the terrain was covered in fine dust, wind erosion having blown away the topsoil long before this.

"I wonder what happened to them?" Daniel asked as he glanced longingly at the city it was becoming apparent they would not have time to investigate.

"This culture is quite technologically superior Daniel Jackson," Teal’c remarked. "I believe they would have used the gate to escape."

"I agree," Sam added. "Whatever is happening has been coming for a long time. I think there is no one here because they left before the atmosphere became this."

"How are we for time?" Jack asked, thinking that was the perfect note on which to check the countdown to their own departure. The sky was rumbling with atmospheric discharges of radiation emanating from the sun’s turbulent state and gushes of gale force wind only made Jack more eager to leave.

"Two hours." Sam answered automatically. "We’re not far from where we’re supposed to be Sir," she informed him dutifully. "Just over this hill."

As they crested the top of the bare hill, they found themselves looking down over the sprawling expanse of what appeared to be a structure half buried in the ground. The wind erosion had sand blasted away the soil that had covered it and the pyramid remained half exposed to the world. The indications of civilisation around the pyramid was absent as if no one wished to be near this relic that seemed as old as it was forgotten.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked, staring through his visor at the thing and praying that they were not going to be facing a Goa’uld System Lord with a very big ship.

"No it is not," Teal’c spoke up for the benefit of his companions who had erroneously believed it to be a ship even though they could be forgiven for thinking so. Goa’uld builders in general did not have much imagination and their ships, their architecture and engineering followed a fundamental design. "I believe it was an underground fortress but I have not seen one for a very long time. Apophis did not favour such structures."

"It’s a bunker?" Jack looked at the big man with mixture of disbelief and surprise but knew that Teal’c seldom imparted information that was not accurate.

"Its incredible." Daniel exclaimed and was already striding towards it.

"Daniel hold up." Jack ordered, disliking anything that was a surprise to him and not about to let the kid do something stupid by treading where angels feared when they knew nothing about what ‘that’ was before them. Daniel paused and waited for the others to catch up with him before resuming his journey towards their unexpected find.

"This is the source of the Naquadah Sir," Sam confirmed what they had all guessed already. "It’s almost constructed entirely of the stuff."

"Wonderful," Jack remarked abruptly, more concerned about the threat it might pose as opposed to the design of it. "Teal’c you said you saw one of these before, when?"

"It was before I became First Prime," Teal’c answered as they approached the exposed apex of the pyramid that was jutting from the earth. "It was on a world formerly under the control of a Goa’uld System Lord that had been thought dead for many centuries."

"Which one?" Daniel asked off handedly.

"I believe it was Isis." He answered.

"Isis?" Daniel stopped and looked at Teal’c. "Really?" He was surprised even for Daniel and Jack wanted to know why.

"And this Isis was…?" Jack prompted Daniel to explain.

"Well, she sat in the pantheon of Egyptians gods almost as highly as Ra. She was his consort, whatever you want to call it. Like Hera to Zeus, she was the Queen of All." Daniel explained, even more inspired that they might be finding a relic of that famous goddess. "Its explains why she built her fortresses underground as well. Isis was a goddess of fertility and motherhood; she is attributed to anything relating to growth, like Demeter who controlled the seasons. Earth mother would be the best description of her. She would have felt a great infinity to stay close to the soil because that was meant to be her domain I suppose."

"Like Hathor?" Sam inquired, remembering with distaste that particular Goa’uld.

"Not like Hathor," Daniel shook his head. "Hathor seduced men with pheromones but Isis was known to be a sorceress with great powers of cunning."

"This could have been one of her worlds." Teal’c pointed out.

  
"Well she hasn’t been here in awhile." Jack remarked. "No way, she would let these people become what they did if she was still in charge."

"O’Neill is right," Teal’c remarked. "Like all Goa’uld, Isis would not allow this world to develop and achieve technological superiority that might be a threat. This is mostly likely one of her enclaves but I doubt that it has seen her presence for a long time."

"That’s good to know." Jack replied and then turned to Daniel. "Okay kid, knock yourself out."

There appeared to be only one entrance into the structure since all others had been sealed from the outside, probably by the former residents of this world to prevent intruders from stumbling into any Goa’uld booby traps that might have been left behind. It required Teal’c staff weapon to blast an opening through the doors since the locking mechanism was damaged. Musty air from years of confinement bombarded them as soon as it was freed from its long imprisonment, briskly being blown away by the harsh winds sweeping across the globe. As Jack and Teal’c prepared to enter, Daniel studied the markings on the damaged door.

"Can you read it?" Sam asked as she peered over his shoulder as he studied the unmistakably Egyptian glyphs on the stone. Much of the inscription had been worn away and only a few clearly defined glyphs still remained to be translated.

"Not really," Daniel admitted disappointed. "Most of it is gone. The only words I can make out are Isis and Sekhmet."

"Sekhmet?" She looked at him quizzically as he turned away from the carving and prepared to follow Jack and Teal’c into the structure.

"Yes, she was supposedly sister to Hathor." Daniel explained as they allowed the darkness of the pyramid bunker to envelop them. "The powerful one as she was called, as well as the Eye of Ra. She was a warrior goddess."

Sam did not speak. Some months before, she had played host to a Tokra Goa’uld named Jolinahr. During their joining, Sam had learnt that not all Goa’uld were conquerors and Jolinahr was part of a resistance movement. When Jolinahr had been forced to relinquish his hold of her body in order to save her life, the genetic memory of his knowledge still remained inside of her. Thus Sam now had vague impressions of Goa’uld culture that was of immeasurable importance not only to the SCG but her understanding of the Goa’uld themselves. "Jolinahr remembers her," she whispered after a moment. "She’s extremely dangerous, a real beast of conquest."

As they progressed down the narrow corridor, they could see Jack and Teal’c up ahead, lighting the way with one of their xenon powered torches. The powerful illumination of the lights gave Sam and Daniel a clear view of what was ahead and they soon entered a secondary chamber. Their new surroundings were strangely devoid of anything except a golden sarcophagus that sat in the middle of the room. There was no evidence of any technology or even furnishing for that matter and it only added to the mystery why everything was taken except for the sarcophagus.

"I don’t get it." Jack said confused after they had activated the control panel and found the tomb like device empty. "What leave this and take everything else?"

Daniel had to admit it was confusing. Of all the technology that was at the Goa’uld disposal, this was possibly the most important piece of equipment they possessed. The sarcophagus had the ability to restore life even from a state of death. Its powers of regeneration could cure any illness and was used to maintain Goa’uld bodies for great lengths of time, even through centuries of existence. "Are the other rooms like this?" He asked Jack.

"I will go investigate." Teal’c offered and disappeared into the darkness before anyone could say the word to stop him.

"Colonel, look." Sam motioned him to where she was standing. While Jack and Daniel had been pondering the absence of any artefact other than the sarcophagus in the room, she had been making a close study of it in silence.

"What?" Jack inquired striding up to her and realised what she was staring at. The dirt on the ground was thick and until now, none of them had paid any attention to it because they had naturally assumed that no one had been inside this place since it was sealed long ago. However, what she was found was very obviously the scuffled marks of footsteps in the thick film of dust. Someone had been here and recently by the tracks on the ground.

"Uh Oh," Daniel uttered first, always underestimating the situation by a country mile.

"Someone is in here." Jack declared in silent horror, realising that Teal’c was presently wandering this place alone, with no idea that they were not alone. "How is that possible?"

"With the sarcophagus here, it’s extremely possible." Daniel replied. "If they were trapped in here. Oh wow, they would have no choice but to use it."

"You’d go insane." Sam mused, unable to imagine such a terrible fate. "Imprisoned like this for who knows how long."

"I know I’d be pissed." Jack declared and started towards the direction Teal’c had taken. "Teal’c! He called out after the former Jaffa warrior. "Teal’c!" He cried out again but there was no answer, just silence that seemed all the more foreboding in light of what they now knew.

Suddenly out of nowhere a bolt of energy exploded into existence, impacting not too far from the sarcophagus. Daniel and Sam immediately ran for cover behind the Naquadah construct, knowing that it would withstand the blast of what appeared to be the discharge of a staff weapon. Jack had barely missed being hit full in the chest and landed badly as he leapt out of the way, feeling his shoulder pop as he impacted on it against the hard floor. Taking advantage of the confusion, the enemy emerged, two shadowy forms that moved quickly through the room, with no intention of finishing them off as they ran down the corridor the same way the SG1 team had entered.

Sam did not follow them; instead she and Daniel hurried to Jack, who had yet to get up. The colonel was lying on his side, wincing in pain at the injury to his shoulder. "Don’t just stand there!" He barked at her. "Go after them!" He ordered.

Sam nodded wildly, leaving Daniel to tend to the colonel while she took up the chase. As she ran down the lengthy corridor, she could hear their voices whispering and realised that whomever their attackers had been, they were definitely female. For a duo that had been kept in virtual isolation for so long, they made it to the surface with remarkable speed although Sam wondered how long they could tolerate exposure to the radiated hell of the atmosphere. It did not help that it was difficult for her to keep up with them while she was trapped inside this radiation suit which made it difficult to move with any kind of agility.

Arriving on the surface, she saw their attackers more clearly under the bright light of day. As suspected previously, the voices belong to a pair of women, clearly Mediterranean in origin, running at top speed towards the gate. Sam aimed her gun and fired, sending a hail of bullets in their direction to stop them in their tracks. However, the sarcophagus had kept their bodies healthy even though they would be seeking new hosts because the older a body became, the harder it was for it to be renewed inside the sarcophagus. Unfortunately, they were too far out of range and all her bullets served to do was alert them to her presence. Immediately, they swung around and started firing at her since the staff weapon did not possess the limitations of her gun.

While they did not succeed in harming her, Sam had a premonition that this was not the point of the exercise. The two women who were wearing the garb of upper echelon Goa’ulds were attempting to keep her at bay while they made their run for the stargate. However, it was not just them that gave the astrophysicist concern now. As she looked at the sky, there seemed to be something brewing in the atmosphere, looking ominous as the clouds rumbled and the atmospheric disturbances intensified. Sam was suddenly felt that it was not wise to remain any longer and immediately reached for her radio.

"Colonel." Sam spoke into the receiver.

"We’re right behind you." Jack O’Neill’s voice returned almost immediately. "Teal’c is okay. They managed to blind side him."

"Colonel, its getting pretty nasty on the surface, I think we should get out of here now." Sam interrupted before Jack could tell her anything more. "The two Goa’uld are making their way to the gate, I’m going to try and stop them."

"Negative," Jack responded in a burst of static. "Follow them close enough to see where they’re going and we’ll catch up with them later."

"Are you sure Sir?" She asked and then realised this was probably the wisest course of action at the moment. They had been taken by surprise and the environment at this time was hardly the place to debate the issue.

"Yeah," he answered. "We’ll meet you at the gate shortly." With that, the line was terminated and Sam found herself hurrying to follow his orders.

* * *

By the time she arrived at the gate, the two Goa’uld were already there and starting the dialling sequence. Sam made certain she stayed out of sight because her instructions had been to maintain surveillance of their destination. As she watched them converse in a language, Sam was certain Daniel could understand with ease, she noted that they were not as well preserved as she originally believed. Although they appeared healthy, it was obvious that their long confinement had taken its toll on their host bodies. She could see age catching up with them and knew wherever they were going, they would be searching for host bodies.

It was hard to distinguish between the two women since they were both of the same racial type. The Goa’uld seemed to prefer Eastern bodies and these were no exception. However, ones wore the classical robes of a Goa'uld queen while the other was dressed in leather and armour. Jolinahr’s memories immediately identified the latter of the two as Sekhmet. It was Sekhmet who began the dialling sequence and to Sam’s surprise, the address entered was that of Earth. They were going to Earth! Why?

On further thought, that destination made sense. After all, for two Gou’ulds who needed human bodies as hosts, there was no better destination that the source of humanity. Also, with their long confinement, they had no idea that the stargate on Earth was protected by a titanium iris that would kill them the moment they attempted to penetrate it without transmitting the proper signal to the SGC. As the last glyph on the dial home device as activated, the stargate came alive, spurting the matter stream through the circle of Naquadah before settling into a shimmering film of energy.

The Goa’uld wasted no time in taking advantage of the escape the portal offered and immediately disappeared into its rippling surface. As Sam watched them vanish, travelling to almost certain doom, she could not help but feel a twinge of pity for the death they were about to endure. After all, it was sad to think they had been trapped for so long only to find that their escape was equally meaningless.

In any case, it was too late now. The moment they had chosen Earth as their destination, they were doomed.

* * *

_**Four Corners, New Mexico – 1879** _

"This is absolutely amazing." Mary Travis Larabee remarked as she stared at the artefact before her. She could understand what all the fuss was about now that she had seen the excavation for herself. This was by no means any type of mound dwelling found in this area in recent years. As her eyes travelled over the huge circle of smooth polished rock, with its odd yet mysterious carvings inside an inner ring within the main frame, Mary knew they had stumbled upon something that was unknown to man before this moment. In fact, if she did not know better, she would think that the symbols engraved were not an ancient Indian language at all but more Egyptian even though she knew that was impossible. What on earth would Egyptian carvings be doing in North America? It made no sense.

"Tell me, Mrs Larabee," Dr Faulkner said with a smile, enjoying the young woman’s unabashed enthusiasm and fascination of what was becoming the find of the decade if not the century. "What do you think those markings are?"

"I have no idea." Mary confessed, "I would have thought that they were of some ancient Aztec culture but they look almost…." She did not wish to voice her claim, knowing he would think her stupid if she were wrong.

"Egyptian?" He ventured a guess.

"Yes," she admitted reluctantly. "But I’m an amateur at this sort of thing."

"You would be correct." He stated with a smile. "They are Egyptian glyphs, hence the reason for all the secrecy."

"Oh my god," Mary found herself exclaiming. "How is that possible?"

"Mrs Larabee, this entire dig is an impossibility." The old man with the tufts of grey hair and the perennially rumpled clothes gestured to the cavern before them. Not only was it one of the biggest underground structures she had ever seen, it was explained to her that this fortress of rock was man made and the artefacts that they had been finding were the like of nothing that had ever been seen. The biggest mystery of all was this enormous circle of rock, which appeared to resemble some kind of altar.

"Look at this," he presented her with an ornate piece of wrist jewellery that was worm around the hand and coiled exotically around the wrist with an enormous blue gem at the centre of the wearer’s palm. Its design was one of the most breathtaking things that Mary had ever seen as she examined it closely, she could see why this excavation was becoming such a defining event in archaeology.

"Its beautiful." Mary whispered as she continued to study it. "Is that a sapphire?" She asked of the gem in the middle.

"I would say so but its cut its beyond any technique that’s ever been recorded." Faulkner answered as they continued walking past the other workmen in the main chamber. "I know I am on the verge of something extraordinary," he sighed. "But it will take me the rest of my life to find it."

"It’s a worthy goal." She said warmly, still studying the device.

"You have a good eye for these things." He said truly impressed with the woman. There were not many journalists who loved the work for the stories they could tell, not the prestige of it. Mary was one of those rare individuals that wrote her stories as a reflection of the people they were meant to represent, not as sensationalist fodder in the pursuit of profit. "I would like you to continue your work with us. Record what we are doing here with the intention of a writing a book."

"A book?" Mary stared at him in astonishment. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely." He declared. "You have an affinity for the work we are doing and I believe you truly care about the integrity of this site. That makes a great deal of difference to us here."

"Doctor Faulkner," Mary stammered, unable to believe what he was offering her. Not only would she adore being here while they uncovered the find of the century but to be given the opportunity to write about it, to be lifted out of the mundane diatribe she had been writing for the past eight years, it was almost a dream come true. "I don’t know what to say." She swallowed, feeling her emotion choke the voice from her throat.

"Say yes," he urged.

Mary was about to respond as he asked when suddenly, they heard the shudder of rock slamming against rock. Immediately both of them turned their attention to the direction from which the noises had come and to their absolute surprise saw the circle beginning to move like a combination lock that was being turned and snapped into place. Mary was frozen but Faulkner and the other members of the dig hurried to the artefact, watching the inner ring of its construct sliding back and forth, pausing at certain symbols and sliding past others.

When the inner ring had reached its seventh symbol, something extraordinary happened. A gush of light exploded from the hollow of the circle, sending out a surge of something that could have been foam but she knew instinctively was not. Faulkner and the others were standing right in front of it and Mary opened her mouth to caution them away from the device but it was too late. In stunted horror, she watched the wave explode outwards; vaporising them like smoke as it washed past them. Faulkner and his team had barely time to scream as their bodies disappeared in front of Mary, withering away like one would blow away ash. By the time, the wave recoiled back into a ripple like film of gossamer over the surface of the circle, Mary knew without doubt that Faulkner and the excavation team were dead.

For a moment, she did not know what to do. She wanted to run but journalistic curiosity in all its folly kept her rooted to the spot. She was witnessing something incredible and Mary could not draw away even though every measure of sense dictated that she should. She watched the ripple in mid air, like the surface of water, standing up on its edge. It was the most frightening thing she had ever seen and the most amazing at the same time. Slowly, she took a step forward when suddenly; two women appeared from out of the strange surface.

Their clothing was like nothing Mary recognised but their skin colour and their features resembled Alexandra Styles for some reason, appearing exotic like the doctor herself. They regarded her with cold eyes before their gaze moved over the cavern. The one who was dressed in leather and what resembled armour approached her while the other took stock of their surroundings.

"Hello." Mary attempted to communicate, wondering if she was mad for still being here.

The woman in the leather smiled faintly and immediately sent a chill of fear through Mary’s spine. There was something predatory about it that made the prey immediately sense danger. The editor of the Clarion backed away instinctively but it was too late. The woman’s grip was strong and had her by the hair even before Mary had a chance to turn and run.

"Let me go!" She shouted defiantly. "What do you want?"

The woman did not answer but seemed to look at her with some measure of approval. She turned to her companion and spoke in some incomprehensible language. The other, the one dressed in robes and finery seemed to feign similar approval and Mary became all the more terrified for it. She struggled to break free but her captor’s grip was strong like steel and Mary’s attempts to escape felt childlike and futile.

Suddenly, she was thrown on the ground, face first. As she hit the dirt, Mary squinted as grains of sand entered her eyes. "What are you doing!" Mary cried out as she felt the woman’s knee on her back, pinning her to the dirt helplessly like a child sticking a pin through an insect on cork. She was aware that the back of her dress was ripped away and the bare skin of neck and upper back was exposed. For a moment, she thought absurdly that this was rape and knew it was impossible. The woman’s hand was holding her head down now, her grip secure by the large clump of golden hair she had intertwined in her fingers.

Mary froze when she felt something slither across her skin. Something wet and small, like a snake. Her reason left her then and she started screaming as it travelled up her spine and brushing against the soft tissue of her neck. That was one final moment of sharp intense pain, when Mary Travis Larabee felt it penetrate the skin and then everything that she was disappeared in the scream that followed.


	3. Host

It was getting late.

Well not terribly late as in that it was almost nightfall but it was nevertheless getting on in the day. He peered out the bat wing doors of the saloon and took note of the position of the sun in the afternoon sky and reminded himself that it was only ten minutes ago that he had last looked. He knew it was pure foolishness, that Mary was probably having the time of her life covering her story at the excavation. Although he displayed a laconic manner towards her career, often down playing her enthusiasm for things with his own cool, deliberate demeanour, Chris could not deny that he was inordinately proud of his wife. It often amazed him the things she could do when he had thought himself at the stage of life where nothing could catch him unawares.

From the moment he had meant Mary Travis, he had learn to expect the unexpected or else be prepared to spend a lot of time catching up to her heady pace. Inside her mind, were boundaries beyond his limited view of things. He was an avid reader but not even his literary self could take him the places that Mary went every day. She did not see things in one dimension but in facets that had more depth that he could imagine. Most people saw Four Corners as a town, she saw it as the future. When he and the rest of the seven had first arrived in town, Mary was the strongest supporter to their presence because she did not see seven men who would keep the peace. Not at all, Mary’s vision was broader than that simplistic idea. She saw Four Corners achieving stability that heralded the beginnings of prosperity and in many ways she had been right.

Certainly she wad idealistic and that naivete landed her in more trouble than she knew what to do with but he could not imagine her any other way. Seeing how she perceived life with so much hope had saved him in more ways than she knew. By loving her, Chris had been invited to share some of that insatiable hope when all that was left in the wake of Sarah and Adam’s death was a blackness that was slowly killing him, one bullet at a time, one glass of whisky at a time. From the moment he had met her, she aimed sunshine into his soul and Chris could not imagine life without her any more. It was even more unimaginable than going through life without Sarah.

"Judging from the way you keep glancing out the door Mr Larabee, I assume Mrs Larabee has yet to return from her latest feat of journalistic marvel?" Ezra Standish asked across the table where he was playing cards (as always) with JD, Buck and Josiah. Having no wish to get fleeced by the gambler but desiring the company, Chris had joined them at the table and had been content to observe the games only.

"She’s out at the site, ain’t she?" Josiah inquired. The archaeological dig a few miles out of town had been a source of great speculation among the population of Four Corners. Truth be known, most of them had no idea what an archaeologist did until Faulker and his team had come to town. However, ancient Indian relics often translated into mysterious treasure to the uninformed and before they all knew it, Four Corners was buzzing with the news that a great archaeological find had been discovered, the likes of uncovering Cortez’s non-existent El Dorado.

"Yeah," Chris replied, telling himself that it was not getting late even though supper was approaching rather quickly and he would have to get a move on if he wanted to surprise Mary by having dinner ready by the time she got home. "I expect she’ll be a little late though." He found himself thinking out loud. "Probably having the time of her life if I know Mary."

"Well it is a pretty nice feather in her cap." Buck admitted. "Lot of those reporters are spitting teeth that she managed to get Faulkner to even talk to her while he’s chasing the rest of them off. I think its nice that Mary showed those big city boys a thing or too."

"Well it could not have gone to a more deserving lady." Ezra said as he collected the discards in the middle of the table and meted out the appropriate number of cards to the complete the latter half of the game.

"When does Julia get back?" JD inquired, since they were on the subject of the women in their lives.

"Thursday," Ezra answered automatically as JD gestured at him for two cards and promptly placed the appropriate number, face down before him. "She apparently has a general dislike for conducting her affairs in town."

"She’s a lady with secrets." Buck declared and to that no one could disagree because it was true. Julia Pemberton guarded her past with almost fanatic determination, causing them all to wonder on occasion why she was so adamant that no one knew what she had been prior to her arrival in Four Corners.

"Aren’t we all?" Ezra shrugged off the remark. He trusted Julia and knew that when she was ready to tell him about her life before Four Corners, she would do so. He was in no hurry to prise the truth from her, particularly when there were enough unsavoury excerpts from his life that he did not wish disclosure to anyone.

Chris continued to wonder if he should be getting worried about Mary’s absence. Realistically, he knew that she was probably held up at the dig and that she would roll into town, all flustered with excitement and eager to relate to him and Billy what she had been doing all day. The part of Chris Larabee however, who knew when there was a shift in the wind for the worse, was edgy and restless. Something small and nondescript was working his calm reassurances with niggling persistence and that was making it difficult to be so reasonable.

"I heard some talk that Big Jake Holmes in riding into these parts on his way to Mexico." JD was saying, having picked up this piece of gossip when he had been at the bar. "Maybe he’ll come to town." There was enough enthusiasm in his voice for all of them to know that JD would love to encounter the notorious outlaw. It was easy to remember just how young he was when he spoke like this.

"I doubt it," Josiah remarked. "After robbing that bank in Eagle Bend, he ain’t that dumb to come near a town. Every lawman from here to the border has an eye for him and that $1000 reward that’s on his head."

"A man who robs a bank and kill three people doing it for less than his reward money ain’t necessarily a genius." Buck pointed out. "They say he’s a big man but ain’t the brain to match."

Chris was not paying much attention to their conversation in this regard because he did not think Homes would come into town either. The man may not be smart but not even a fool would ride into town when his face was pasted on every wanted poster fit to print on. Besides, it was with a certain satisfaction that Chris knew the seven’s reputation would keep the man away. One man on his own running from the law was not going to walk into town with seven formidable defenders.

Actually, his attention was focussed on something rather curious taking place outside of town. He could see people talking excitedly as they walked past the saloon, casting their eyes over their shoulders repeatedly as they stared at something coming down the street. Chris rose to his feet without saying a word and walked away from the table, his curiosity having gotten the better of him as he went to investigate. He emerged from the saloon in the afternoon sun and cast his gaze in the direction everyone was staring at. What he saw was enough to make him stare in stunned silence.

It was Mary.

At least he thought it was Mary. Everything about her was wrong. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was no longer wearing that yellow floral print dress that she had left for the dig this morning but was now clad in something that looked like leather and skins. Her new clothes clung to her skin, emphasising her figure to almost scandalous extent. However, it was not that which captured his attention the most. He could not articulate into words but it was there, glaring at him with blatant audacity.

Her walk was wrong. It was not the graceful movement she swept through town with, sashaying when she was in a good mood or stomping when she was mad. Instead, her mobility was laced with a stealth that would make even Vin proud. Suddenly, it came to him with a flash of insight even though he could not imagine how it was possible. She moved like a predator. She moved like a hunter stalking prey, sleek and menacing. If any of the seven had been with him, Chris would have been surprised to hear them say that she moving like him.

Like a killer.

Her blue grey eyes surveyed the town and once again, he saw those familiar eyes that had captured his heart from the first but like before, they were different as well. They were different in a way that sent a shudder of fear down his spine even though he could not explain why. After a moment, he found that he could identify what it was about stare that seemed so alien. Her eyes were hard, almost granite in their expression. He had seen killers with kinder eyes. Her gaze did not look, it studied everything about her, even him. When her eyes touched his briefly, it did so with no recognition before she continued walking.

He noticed that she was carrying a length of metal, almost like a pole. However, it did not look like iron or steel and while it had the colour of copper, Chris knew instinctively that it was not. Then there was the way she held it in her hands, positioning her fingers in very specific positions, almost as if she were poised to react at the slight provocation. The way he would if he were readying himself to fire his gun…..

It took a few seconds for Chris to realise that she was not alone. The woman at her side was dressed just as strangely in robes that flowed off her dusky skin like the silk underthings women wore. For a moment, he thought that she might have stepped out from one of those books he had seen about classical times, for she seemed that much out of place. They walked through town, oblivious to the curious stares they were garnering, with that same predatory look, exuding danger with each step they took. By now, Buck had emerged from the saloon, curious to see what had drawn Chris out of the place so quickly.

"Is that _Mary_?" Buck exclaimed in a hushed voice, just as mystified as he.

Chris did not speak, wanting to get to the bottom of this now. He was striding towards her when he realised that he had undid the flap of his holster and was mortified that he saw her as that much of a threat when she had done nothing to inspire it, merely being unusually garbed than he was accustomed.

Suddenly before Chris could reach her, Billy came running out onto the street. The boy had seen his mother and though she was dressed strangely saw nothing more out of the ordinary beyond the fact that she was his mother. Seeing him approach Mary hastened Chris’ pace, clenching the gunslinger’s heart in his chest as he hurried forward. Something very strange was going on and while Chris could not identify it exactly, his internal senses were screaming danger with every fibre of his being.

"Ma!" Billy called out cheerfully, pausing in front of Mary.

Her reaction stunned just about every body who bore witness to it except Chris who was expecting this even though he could not understand how. With speed he credited to some of the fastest gunslingers he had ever seen , Mary swung the metal rod at her son, like she was brandishing a weapon. Her reflexes astonished even Chris who had seen some of the fastest gunslingers in the Territory and was himself counted among their number.

"Mary!" Chris shouted.

His interruption was the only thing that kept her from proceeding any further for she looked at Billy like she had no idea he was her son. By now, Billy had judged something was wrong and had started to back away slowly to Chris, frightened by the unfamiliarity of what he was seeing in his mother. She stood in the middle of the street, her eyes regarding him for the first time and narrowing as if she were sizing up an opponent, not someone she loved. Her companion turned to her and spoke in an unfamiliar language with a voice did not at all sound feminine but hoarse and brutal like a man’s. Mary seemed to understand what was being said to her and looked up at Chris before twisting her fist around the shaft of the rod, moving into place what appeared to be a handgrip. The bulbous head of the rod snapped open and with it, something like blue energy cackled with lethal intensity.

"Billy, come towards me." Chris ordered and stopped walking.

"But ma…" Billy protested.

"Now Billy." Chris repeated. " _Now_."

That was enough since the boy was conditioned to obey that voice just as unquestioningly as that of his mother’s.

Mary glared at Chris with cold eyes and stated in the same unearthly voice that her companion had used, sounding nothing like the woman he loved. "You will withdraw or I will kill this child."

Those words made Billy stop in his tracks and he stared at his mother with the same astonishment that the entire town of Four Corners, not to mention his step father was currently displaying at his mother’s actions. Billy stared at Chris, waiting for the gunslinger to explain to him what was happening but was rewarded with nothing but silence. In the meantime, his ma was still eying him with that cold expression of unfamiliarity, while aiming that strange pole in his direction.

Chris did not know what to say because he was still reeling with the cold indifference of her words. What in God’s name had happened to her? "Mary, that’s your son." He stammered.

"Obey!" She shouted, ignoring his plea to reach her or the woman she might have been. "Do not meddle in our affairs or I will kill the child." To prove her point, she focussed her aim of the weapon squarely at Billy’s chest with no hesitation or conscience.

"This is insane." Buck found his voice in the face of the unbelievable drama unfolding before them. For all intensive purposes, this was Mary Travis Larabee, Chris’ wife and friend to all of them. "Chris, what’s happened to her?"

"I don’t know," he mused. "But do what she says, back away."

"Chris…" His old friend started to protest.

"Do it!" Chris hissed angrily, not willing to risk Billy’s life at any price. He did not know what was happening to Mary but the threat he saw in her eyes was real and the weapon she was carrying was indeed that, a weapon with the ability to deliver ugly death should she be provoked into using it. Slowly, the two men backed away, with Chris keeping close sight of Billy at all times. Mary had stepped forward while Billy was still racked with confusion and drew the boy to her, indicating to the men who would have interfered with her and her companion that Billy was still in danger.

The rest of the seven had emerged from the saloon, staring at the spectacle with similar shock and confusion. Outwardly, the woman before them was Mary Larabee but her actions were proving that she was a dangerous stranger.

It was at this moment that Vin Tanner and Alexandra Styles returned to town. As always, they rode together on Peso, with the doctor’s arm securely around her lover, inciting the more Christian folk of Four Corners to gossip with disapproval each time they bore witness to their behaviour. However, on this occasion no one was paying attention. Neither Vin nor Alex had any idea what was going on as they rode to the saloon but it was starting to appear that something was amiss.

"Is that Mary?" Alex whispered in his ears as Peso reached the hitching post in front of the saloon.

"I think so." Vin replied but like everyone else at present, he could no more understand what was happening then they could. However, he could tell one thing for certain because he could see it inexplicably drawn in Chris’ face. Fear. Anything that could make Chris Larabee scared was something to worry about immediately. He dismounted his horse and helped Alex down from the saddle, eager to find out what situation had developed in their absence.

Perhaps it was because Mary was at the centre of things that Alex did not feel any fear as she followed Vin closely, concerned about her friend and just as curious about what was occurring at the moment. Vin came up along side Chris and Buck, seeing now with absolute certainty that the fear he had seen earlier was no mirage. Something was spooking Chris badly. It was not just that Mary was dressed strangely, almost like a man but the way she was holding Billy to her, not to mention the odd staff that she was carrying.

"What’s going on?" Vin whispered as he reached Chris.

"I don’t know." Chris managed to say, glad to see Vin but uncertain of what to do. His hand was still poised on his gun but he could no more shoot her than he could comprehend what had become of the woman who left pie in the oven for him this morning from this alien creature that glared at him like he was nothing to her.

"Mary’s gone out of her head." Buck replied quickly when Chris could not. "She threatened to kill Billy."

"What?" Vin looked at them in shock and disbelief. "That’s crazy."

While Mary was keeping her eyes firmly on Chris and Billy, using the boy as a hostage to keep the others at bay, her companion in the robes was studying the faces before her as if searching for something. They had stopped walking because their presence had captured too much attention now to proceed any further. However, the quest for what they needed was not halted for there appeared to be numerous candidates present even if none were to her liking.

"Mary." Alexandra Styles called out to her friend, unaware that it was not Mary who was standing before them. "What are you wearing?"

"Something is wrong with her." Chris said automatically, gesturing for her to be silent because while what had happened to Mary was vague and undefined at the moment, the threat she had made to Billy’s life had not been. Chris had the feeling that she had no idea Billy or any of them were. He knew it was insane but the weapon she was holding went a long way to proving that something very bizarre was happening. He had experienced the impossible once before to know that there was much beyond the realm of understanding that took place in this world.

The other woman snapped her attention to Alex the moment the doctor had spoken. In fact, both Mary and she stared at Alex with interest. For the first time since the threat against his life was made, Mary no longer seemed interested in Billy, but was focusing her concentration on Alex instead. For some reason, that frightened Chris almost as much as Mary's threat to kill Billy. The woman with her smiled and it was cold smile, devoid of humour and full of sinister intent. She opened her mouth and spoke in that strange voice again, in a language that none of them understood.  
  
"Jesus." Vin exclaimed at the unnatural sound coming from the woman's throat.  
  
"What are they saying?" Buck asked as they watched Mary converse with the stranger in that curious tongue.  
  
"I think its Egyptian." Alex declared.  
  
"Egyptian!" Chris looked at her, wondering if this could get any weirder. "You can understand it?"  
  
"Not really," the doctor shook her head. "I recognize one or two words from an old dialect the Bedouins used to speak when I was travelling with my father. It could be Egyptian."  
  
Whatever Chris was about to say next was cut short when Mary pushed Billy aside and raised the weapon at them this time. Chris went for his gun, preparing to shoot even though he knew he could not pull the trigger. Vin and Buck were similarly confused at what to do. They could not fire upon Mary, no matter how odd she was behaving.  
  
"We want the woman." Mary spoke suddenly. "Give her to us."  
  
Vin was the first one to react, glancing anxiously at Alex instinctively. "Give you to her for what?"  
  
"Give her to us or we will take her." Mary repeated herself, twisting her hand around the grip control of the weapon, creating more tendrils of blue energy to sparkle from its barrel.  
  
"Alex get out of here." Chris warned, knowing he had no choice now. He did not know what Mary and this woman had planned for Alex but at this point he had no intention of finding out.  
  
"But. ."Alex started to stay before Vin cut her off abruptly, knowing Chris would not issue such an order unless it was vitally important.  
  
"Get going!" He shouted.  
  
His harsh words made Alex jump but it was enough to make get her moving. She started backing away when suddenly, Mary swung the weapon in her direction and fired. A bolt of blue energy whizzed past her, striking the ground next to her feet. The impact set the ground on fire and Alex froze with terror as she saw the sand on the surface turn black and fused with heat.  
  
"Christ!" Buck gasped at the charred earth before then, unable to fathom what it would do to skin.  
  
"Stay where you are!" Mary ordered, turning the weapon on them again, capturing the attention of everyone now that they knew just precisely what they were up against. The expression on her face was one of pure menace and to their horror, her blue grey eyes glowed with sinister light. Chris felt his heart stop as he realized at that moment that there was something inside Mary, something had taken her just as surely as it intended on taking Alex right now.  
  
"What do we do Chris?" Vin demanded. "We can't just let them take her!"  
  
Unfortunately, that was precisely what was going to happen because they had no idea how to keep it from taking place. Chris did not know how to answer Vin because he did not know what to do. For the first time in his life, he was confronted with a situation to which he could not make a decision. Opening fire on Mary was not an option and even if he could give the order to do so, he knew that neither Vin nor Buck could carry it out, any more than Ezra, J.D. and Josiah who were watching with similar shock from the front steps of the saloon.  
  
The woman with Mary stepped forward slowly, crossing the space between herself and Alex without fear of interference. She hardly cast her gaze in their direction as she approached Alex, whose instincts were to run but could not because the doctor was still horrified by the ground that was still sizzling from the blast of that strange weapon Mary was keeping trained on all of them.  
  
"Chris. ." Vin started to say as the woman reached Alex, knowing that something terrifying was about to happen unless they stopped this now. Acting purely out a fear for Alex more than anything else, Vin rushed at the woman, attempting to keep her away from Alex when she swung to face him with surprising speed. Vin had not seen the bracelet that was coiled around her hand or the gem in the centre of her palm until she raised her hand in his direction. He was able to take no more than a step before something like a ton of bricks slammed into his with such force he was thrown backwards like a fly that was swatted away.  
  
"Vin!" Alex screamed and the entire scene went to pandemonium.  
  
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Chris rushed forward managing to get his hands on the weapon Mary was carrying and pull it away. It clattered on the ground as he flung it aside out of her reach when suddenly, he felt her fist smashing into his jaw with more strength that he thought her capable of producing. As Chris turned to her in stunned disbelief, he came to his senses just in time to see her pulling back to deliver another blow. He barely had time to block it when she threw a flying kick that landed squarely in his stomach and forced him to stagger back. The power of her movements was almost as astonishing as her ability to fight. Her attack was far from done and she came at him before he had a chance to recover. Sweeping his feet from under him with another low kick, Chris tumbled to the floor as Buck rushed forward to help, only to be halted with a powerful backhanded blow that sent him to the ground next to Chris.  
  
In the meantime, Vin struggled to his feet, certain that he had broken a rib upon landing. He saw the stranger turn her back on him and return her attention to Alex who was trying to reach him when she found her away barred by his attacker. Alex was about to push her way through when suddenly the woman wielded that strange device on her hand once more. The gem glowed in the centre of the palm and suddenly all the fight in Alex dissipated as its light twinkled in her eyes.  
  
Standing up, he tried to reach her as he saw her face change as all expression drained from her face. He got no more than a few steps when he realized that Mary had retrieved her weapon and was preparing to incinerate Chris and Buck. He shoved her hard, forcing her to drop the staff once again but his injury had made his slow and she was faster than he had ever believed possible. She slammed her foot into his knee, bringing him down as he groaned in pain. Before he could react to get out of the way, she delivered another kick to his face and left him dazed as she walked past him and picked up her weapon.  
  
Chris got to his feet and saw Mary saying something to the other one in that strange language. The woman who seemed to have Alex in her power as the doctor stared transfixed at the gem stone in the middle of her palm responded in agreement to whatever was being said. When she lowered her hand, Alex was no longer looking at anything, her eyes seemed vacant and lost as if she was dazed or out of her head. Appearing as if they had come to a decision about something, Mary and her companion started walking again. This time, they headed towards a wagon and horse that was hitched up next to hardware store. Alex followed them, her arms hanging loosely at her sides as she wore that same empty look that he was certain registered nothing but what she had seen when the gem had taken her mind.  
  
"Alex!" Vin called out after her but Alex did not respond. She barely heard him as she followed them compliantly and Chris had a sinking feeling that they had somehow lost Alex as Mary had been taken. The tracker had forcing himself to stand even though he clutched his side in obvious pain, determined to follow her.  
  
"Stand down Vin." Chris ordered because they had to regroup. They were all reeling from what had taken place, him most of all and he knew that before they could formulate some kind of strategy, they had to understand what had happened to Mary and was now happening to Alex.  
  
"We can't just let them take her!"  
  
"Are you ready to shoot them down to stop them trying!" Chris turned on his friend fiercely. Did Vin have any idea how hard this was for him? That was his wife who had just taken all three of them on and won. His jaw was still stinging with pain as he watched the trio climb onto the wagon with Alex taking the reins with that same expression of blank obedience that was almost as unbelievable as everything that was happening now.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Buck roared as he watched helplessly with Vin and Chris, as Alex snapped the reins and sent the horses surging forward, spiriting herself and her companions away. "Where did she learn to fight like that?"  
  
Chris could no more answer that question than the rest of it. As he watched Alex and Mary disappeared trailing a cloud of dust behind them, Chris knew that if he ever wanted his wife back, he was going to have to find the answers.

* * *

  
Alexandra Styles felt like she was dreaming.  
  
It was an odd sort of dream where she was not quite awake but quiet asleep either. She could see things transpiring around her but was powerless to effect any of it. Through the haze of her memory she remembered vaguely that she had spent a glorious day with Vin where they had made love in the privacy of the wilderness and basked in the sun like teenagers stealing a day together. She could feel the warmth of his skin against her, the heady scent of his body and the sensual splendor of his fingers tips dancing against her flesh. Those were the things that remained close to the surface and she clung to it because she drowning in everything else.  
  
Alex knew that she was in danger but she could do nothing to help herself. Her limbs felt sluggish and heavy and although she had not wanted to go with them when they beaconed her to follow, there had not been much she could do about it. She was compelled by something she could not explain, bound by the glimmer of what she had seen inside the facets of the sapphire stone. Even now, as she struggled valiantly to think clearly, she could only see the elegance of that powerful indigo shade, clouding her mind with its azure bindings. She sought for colour, tried to wade through the prison that had no walls but no doors either.  
  
She found herself unable to refuse when she was told to take them from Four Corners and while she a fly caught in their web, helpless to do anything but obey, Alex had struggled to see if Vin was alright because she knew Mary had hurt Vin. What was it about Mary? Alex tried to think and found that image was also fading away into the mists. All that seemed to be clear was the swirling inside her head as they rode away from Four Corners. The one who trapped her in amber did not speak to her following that initial encounter in town. Instead, it was Mary who directed her at the reins of the horse and told them where they needed to go.  
  
Alex keep thinking about Vin, wondering if he was safe even though it was hard to keep his face in her mind the further they continued away from town but he remained there, a permanent fixture she clung to for he was her only anchor to reality. They continued away from town for some time, until the brightness of day melted into the soft light of evening. As the sun began its rapid descent into the horizon, they came at last to their destination. She tried to remember it for what it was, having been certain that Mary had said something about what it was some days ago.  
  
The structure was mostly underground with an entrance that led down to the depths of the earth. The sun had not quite set yet so there was no need for illumination as they progressed down the ramp that they took them deep into its innards. There were tools scattered about and but the laborers who might have utilized them were nowhere to be seen. They did not speak to her other than requiring her to follow their orders which was just as well for she was struggling hard to make anything out clearly. As the underground cavern swallowed her into its maw, things only became more confusing and Vin began slipping further and further away although when she felt fear, it was knowing there he existed somewhere that kept her from yielding completely to her terror. She wanted to so badly to be away from here but there was nothing in her spirit that would allow her to flee.  
  
Finally, they arrived at the cavern through which the Goa'uld visitors had first entered this primitive world. Evidence of the violence that they had conducted was scattered around in the bodies of the dead workers who had died later on, when they confronted the duo after being attracted by the screaming of the woman whose body Sekhmet now possessed. However, their quest here had been accomplished. They had come for bodies and now bodies were what they had found.  
  
Healthy, beautiful bodies that would survive for another thousand years or more if they so desired. It did not bother them that the world they left behind was now a dead husk of radiation. Isis had seeded many worlds where in them, her worship continued and would be renewed once her subject's Goddess walked among them again.  
  
The host whose mind was her own, albeit temporarily was still trying to fight against the effects of the gem's confinement. As she struggled to fight the haze inside her mind, the Goa'uld decided that it was time to make the blending. It was time to leave this world and it was best if the joining took place sooner before they were confronted by more of the host's former compatriots. Sekhmet had taken up watch, waiting for the inevitable confrontation, while Isis performed what needed to be done.  
  
"Undress." Isis spoke to her in that strange voice Alex found she could not ignore.  
  
Fighting it valiantly even though she had not a hope in the world of chasing away this fog inside her mind, Alex felt herself obey her instructions. Without any resistance in her limbs though her mind was singularly focused on not carrying out what was being said to her, Alex began to undo the buttons that ran along the length of her dress. Slowly, she removed the garment, discarding the silken underthings until she stood before her captor, bare to the skin. Her mind recoiled at what she was doing but had no ability to stop what was happening.  
  
She had begun to suspect something bad was about to happen to her but not even with her perception and determination, could Alex suspect what that might have been.  
  
The woman circled her, her eyes moving over Alex's form as if she were appraising a fine ornament or something equally priceless. Inwardly Alex trembled even though to the casual observer, her expression was still vacant and unknowing of anything. The woman paused behind her and for a painfully long minute, nothing happened. She merely stood there behind Alex for such a length of time that even Mary had returned to see what was happening. Alex felt her heart pounding in her chest, wishing that if they were going to kill her to be just done with it because she could not abide the waiting.  
  
Suddenly, she felt something against the skin of her back. It was wet and slithery, snaking up her back with a gliding movement. Alex started gasping because her terror had done impossible and sliced cleanly through her vague thoughts. Unfortunately, she was still rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but endure what was happening. Whatever was crawling up her back was alive, she could feel it pulsing against her skin as it travelled towards her neck. Its progress up her spine was painfully slow and Alex felt her fear mounting which every inch of its journey, trying not to imagine what would happen to her when it finally reached its intended place.  
  
She felt it brush against her neck, whatever it was. It felt her skin like it was something to be savoured. Alex was starting to gasp in fear, knowing that she was not far from screaming outright in terror. She no longer paid any attention to where Mary and the woman were, only knowing that she stood poised on the edge of hell and it was coming for her with a wisp of slime against her skin. Suddenly, she felt it dig into her flesh, burrowing into her neck with a pain so fierce that it was beyond imagining. Alex could feel it tearing into her flesh, she could feel it snaking inside of her, moving through bone and tissue until finally, it wrenched free a damn of pain the likes of which she had never known.  
  
As the dream began to dissipate, Alexandra Styles plunged headlong into the nightmare.

* * *

  
Chris was certain of one thing as he and the rest of the seven rode out of Four Corner, whatever had turned Mary into a violent stranger had originated from the archaeological dig she had been so eager to visit this morning. He knew it with absolute certainty because there could be no other explanation for it. When he had seen her eyes glow, he had understood at last that whomever it was standing before him may look like his wife and might be wearing her body like one would wear a suit of clothes but it was not Mary.  
  
It was something else.  
  
What that something else might be and why it had taken not only Mary but Alex as well was what he had to find out if there was any chance of saving either of them. Experience in the past had taught him that the world was a place of smoky mirrors, where reality as he perceived it was only as deep as the reflection on the surface of water. He cast his mind back to that other time, when he had been faced with something just as unimaginable and despite how he may have tried to deny its existence, the evidence and the situation was painfully real. Just as this was now.  
  
Vin rode next to him, silent but full of worry. Chris, who had lost a wife and son, knew how to cope with the possibility of harm befalling his family even if living with it was another matter entirely. Vin was young and he was truly in love for the first time in his life and the bond between the tracker and his lady was strong and binding. So binding that if Vin were to lose her, Chris was not entirely sure how Vin could survive the loss. Deep down inside, what feared Chris almost as much as losing Mary was the fact that if Vin did lose Alex. Grief would eat him inside out as it had done Chris five years ago. The gunslinger did not want his friend to go down that black road, to feel nothing but a constant pain of longing that made the world grey and shapeless. He did not want Vin to end up like him.  
  
"I am still at a loss to understand what has brought this about." Ezra exclaimed because like the rest of them, he was just as astonished by what they had seen. "We have seen some strange things gentlemen but I do believe this is a new realm of experience."  
  
"Ezra shut up." Buck snapped, completely aware of how difficult it was for Chris and Vin who were barely holding on to the hope that they had not lost the women in their lives. Buck who had been right there alongside of Chris when Mary had taken them both down, knew what he had seen just as clearly as Chris had.  
  
"I did not mean to offend. ." the gambler stumbled, his smooth voice faltering as he realized his tactlessness in bringing up the subject when they were all painfully aware of what had happened. Indeed the entire town had witnessed the debacle.  
  
"Its okay." Chris spoke up, feeling generous because it was an extraordinary set of circumstances they now found themselves in and he was grateful for his friends for willing to ride by his side as they went to face God only knew what.  
  
"Chris," Josiah replied as they neared the excavation. "What are we going to do?" The preacher asked.  
  
"What do you mean?" Chris turned to him, wondering how he could even ask such a question. Obviously, they were going to retrieve Mary and Alex by any means necessary, even if it meant dragging them back to town kicking and screaming.  
  
"I mean, we can't shoot them." Josiah retorted, reminding them of the limitations of the exercise they were about to undertake. "How are we going to bring them back without shooting them?"  
  
"I don't know." Chris had to admit. "It's the weapons that Mary's has got that is half the problem." He replied. "We need to get it away from her."  
  
"The other one had something else." Vin reminded. "It was something she wore on her hand."  
  
"I saw that," Nathan nodded. He had been in his infirmary when he had heard the commotion and had arrived on the scene just in time to see Vin flying across the air as if an invisible hand had swatted him aside like a badly behaved child.  
  
"She didn't even touch you." While that may have been difficult to explain, the injuries left behind were no flights of fancy. Vin had let him look at his broken ribs long enough for Nathan to see that at least two of them had been cracked. Even now, he could see the tracker wincing in pain each time he galloped forward in the saddle. Unfortunately, there was no way that they were going to convince Vin to stay behind when they had left town. Not while Alex was out there.  
  
"I don't know you're going get that whatever its is Mary's got." J.D. confessed. Of all the seven, he had the hardest time dealing with all this because he was young and his mind still reeled at every new experience. This was so far beyond what he knew that a deep fear had set inside him that perhaps this was an enemy they were not going to be able to beat. "She's real strong now. I mean, she knocked all three of you down. It's going to take all of us just to get that thing away from her."  
  
As pessimistic as J.D. might have sounded, Chris knew the young man was right. Unfortunately, that did not change things. They still had to reach Mary and Alex to help them. Beyond that, Chris was no closer to a solution than when they had left Four Corners. All he knew right now was that they had to find them first.  
  
Hopefully, the rest would work itself out later. As they neared the excavation, Chris was able to see first hand what Mary had been calling the find of the century prior to this.  
  
The structure was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was certainly not one of those ancient mounds and while it protruded through the ground like one, the similarity ended there. As the seven approached, the structure appeared more triangular than anything else, almost like a pyramid that was buried underground.  
  
"Oh my Lord," Ezra whispered. "It truly is an exceptional find."  
  
The archaeologists had done a great deal of work with their earthmoving efforts until they had exposed much of the upper portion of the structure including an entrance that disappeared into the darkness where the sunlight could not reach.  
  
"That ain't the word I'd use for it." Vin retorted.  
  
The wagon that Mary had stolen stood not far from the entrance leading into the heart of the structure. However, there was no sign of its passengers. The horses merely waited in bored impatience, unable to flee with the wagon still hitched to the harness on their backs. They reacted with a mere snort of acknowledgment as the seven riders approached but did nothing more to give away the new arrivals' presence to those inside the pyramid.  
  
The afternoon was rapidly descending into evening and very soon it would be dark. Chris did not like the idea of being here in the night, unable to explain why it was so imperative because he was not a man who was afraid of anything.  
  
Predictably, he and Vin dismounted first and when the others did, Chris found himself coming to a very uncomfortable decision but realized he had no other alternative but to take this course of action. It was the one thing he had been unable to do earlier, the one thing that could have kept this from escalating into the nightmare it had now become. He did not voice it to Vin because the tracker was edgy enough as it is. Although Vin Tanner was his level headed best friend who could be counted on in any situation, Chris knew that when it came to Alex, all that restraint and cool deliberation was flung into the wind. His passion for made him unpredictable, not to mention downright dangerous. Right now, he needed Vin thinking straight and so he remained silent.  
  
Chris Larabee did not tell him that it was likely that whatever had happened to Mary had most likely claimed Alex as well, all because they had been unable to keep the doctor from being taken out of Four Corners. "Listen up," he cleared his throat and faced his friends as they prepared to enter the lion's den so to speak. He searched the words that would convey to them that this was the hardest decision he had ever faced in his life but it was a necessary course of action, if either woman was to be saved. "If they're in there and its likely they are, they ain't going to be too happy to see us. I don't know what's happened to Mary but she's a lot stronger than she used to be. She took all three of us down easy and if she's still not herself, then we're going to have to forget that she's my wife or your friend."  
  
It was Ezra who caught on what he was trying to say, even though he had trouble believing it. "Are you suggesting that we open fire on her Mr. Larabee?" Ezra asked with clear astonishment. There were not many things that had the power to move the gambler to such shock but he had to admit, hearing Chris Larabee insinuating this much had certainly succeeded.  
  
"Not to kill," Chris replied quickly, finding it difficult to keep his voice measured because he was so terribly afraid of losing her but knew deep inside, that to save Mary, he had to be the man she loved, the one who could be counted to protect her from anything. "Enough to wound her so that we can find out what's wrong with her."  
  
"Chris. ." Buck started to say but the remark died in his throat when he saw the anguish in the gunslinger's eyes and understood how hard it had been for him to give them the order.  
  
"We also have to be prepared that Alex might be the same way." Chris admitted reluctantly. He had not wanted to tell Vin but now as they stood upon the edge of something dark and unknown, Chris felt that he had to warn them of his suspicions, no matter how terrible the implications.  
  
Vin looked at him sharply. "We don't know that." The tracker said firmly. "There ain't no reason to believe that what got Mary has got her too." His voice had a tinge of desperation because he did not want to believe it.  
  
"And no reason not to either." Josiah said, placing a hand on the younger man's back, trying to offer comfort in this dark time. "Vin, there are some very strange things going on here, you know that if something like that can happen to Mary, it can also happen to Alex."  
  
Vin said nothing and although he did not want to believe it, he knew Josiah was right and so was Chris about using any means necessary to subdue them both. When he had seen her simply walk away from him, following Mary and the other woman obediently, Vin realized that Alex was under the power of something vile and terrifying. If saving her meant that he had to hurt her, then Vin had no choice. He would do anything for Alex.  
  
Even this.  
  
"All right," Vin nodded, meeting Chris' gaze. "I hear you, pard. We'll do it your way."  
  
"Remember," Chris reiterated. "We're going to try and get that weapon or whatever it is away from Mary. If we can get it away from her, maybe we can take her down without having to shoot."  
  
"What about the other one?" J.D. asked. "She's got some kind of a weapon too." The young man reminded them all that the older woman with Mary had managed to send Vin through the air like she was blowing away a feather.  
  
"That's right," Chris nodded, not having forgotten that at all. "That's why you, Josiah, Buck and Nathan are going to keep her distracted. Don't kill her but fire everything you got at her. Me, Ezra and Vin will deal with Mary."  
  
Chris had trouble believing he was talking about his wife as if she were the enemy. Unfortunately, that was exactly what she was. When she had turned her weapon on Billy, preparing to kill her own child, Chris knew that Mary Larabee was gone. Whoever remained in her place was a murderer willing to kill a child and that told Chris a great deal about the enemy he was facing.  
  
He was facing someone who was willing to kill every one of them.

* * *

  
Isis was pleased.  
  
Her new body was everything she wished it to be. Unlike Sekhmet who could tolerate fair skin and golden hair, she had preferred to remain in skin similar to the first human host she had taken for herself. Her host was young and healthy, not to mention extraordinarily beautiful. This met with the approval of Isis for the Goddess of All had to be beautiful. While Isis did not wish Sekhmet's form, she was impressed by it. The golden hair that cascaded past her shoulders was indeed breathtaking and seemed to shimmer each time Sekhmet moved. While it would take Isis some time to acquaint herself with Sekhmet's new visage, she supposed it was no different for her.  
  
Her host's mind was strong. She could hear it crying and weeping, begging freedom in its prison as it struggled and fought despite the increasing realization at the futility of it all. Of course, the hosts always fought in the beginning and while this one had great spirit, it was not match for her. Isis was a psyche in the cultivation for almost four thousand years. She had spent all that time perfecting dominance over her hosts and this latest acquisition, despite its powerful determination, would be no different that any other she had crushed throughout the ages.  
  
Isis slipped on the last of her clothing from her last host body, deciding she did not like the restrictive garments worn by the former. She snorted in derision at the ludicrousness of these female bindings, aware that only a male dominated society could induce the females of its populace to wear such things, as if the bindings were meant not only to hide their bodies but any semblance of self. Isis did not favour the male of the species. There were rules as old as time that even the Goa'uld had to adhere to in their aged culture which in truth was a matriarchy although it served the women of the species to allow the men to think otherwise. Men provided the seed for life, whether they be Goa'uld or human. He decided the form. Those were the rules. Her rule was far simpler and it was the rule of every woman who understood the real truth of nature about that which is called man.  
  
_Use him for your pleasure. Abuse him at your leisure._  
  
She was an instrument of pain to every man she had encountered. Ra had sought to make her his queen, not realizing that it was he that she had chosen to make consort. When enough of them had been spread throughout the stars, she discarded him although it served his vanity to think that it was he who had hunted her into hiding. Sekhmet was one of her children and her greatest pupil. The Lion Goddess and Eye of Ra as the humans had once called her, had made inflicting pain more than just a chore, she had made it art. She thrived on it and the lust of blood, particularly male. Through four millennia of existence, Sekhmet had been the standard for all warring goddesses of popular mythology. She had been Artemis, Diana, Kali and even mistaken for Mut although in truth, Isis was more Mut than Sekhmet but there came a point where their destinies were so intermingled, they were often mistaken for each other.  
  
She was in need of new clothes but for now the robes she had would have to do. It was time to leave the world of the Tau'Ri since it appeared that time had made them somewhat of a threat, albeit a small one. Smoothing her dress, she secured the ribbon device around her hand and searched the cavern for Sekhmet, glancing momentarily at the dead form she had worn for so long. The body had started to shrivel. Without the Goa'uld inside it, its decay would come about rapidly. In a matter of hours, it would be dust, like the rest of the things in this place.  
  
"Are you ready?" Sekhmet emerged from the shadows. Always the warrior, she remained hidden in case of attack. "I grow weary of this world. My hosts attachment to this place is. .disconcerting."  
  
"She feels the bindings of a husband and child," Isis replied. "Such folly has lasting connections. You will feel its stirrings for some time, I fear."  
  
"Not for long." Sekhmet said with a cold smile. "I know how to drive it away."  
  
"We should have taken one of their males with us." Isis remarked as both of them walked to the Chapaii's dialing device. "We will need the code of life to create new Jaffa."  
  
"Yes," Sekhmet agreed. "I would like to have taken the one in black. I believe it was the host's mate. It might have proved an interesting lesson in who controls this body."  
  
"He would not have made a good specimen," Isis said as she reached for the dialing device. "I sense much will in him. You would have killed him forcing him to obey."  
  
"We will find one when we have passed through the gate." Sekhmet said with a tinge of disappointment. She would have really have enjoyed breaking the hosts mate but Isis was right. It was time to leave this world. After so many years of confinement, she wished to be worshipped again. She wanted to luxuriate in the pleasure of male suffering. Perhaps Netjer, one of Isis' many bastions scattered throughout the universe, could offer such diversion.  
  
"No doubt." The Goddess of All mused when suddenly; a loud eruption of sound tore through the stillness of the air. Taken off guard, Isis dropped to the ground but there was no situation to which Sekhmet could be caught unaware for very long. She was the eye of the hunter and she smelled blood in the water.  
  
"Why is Alex dressed like that!" Vin shouted as he and Chris circled the edge of the cavern, moving through the shadows inspired by twilight that was fast approaching outside. They could see the shimmer of Mary's hair as she tried to run for cover once Josiah, J.D. and Nathan opened fired on the woman clad in the robes. It was only after they started shooting and saw her drop to her knees did they realize that it was Alex whom they were firing at.  
  
Chris did not answer Vin because the answer was rather obvious. The same thing that had taken over Mary had now claimed Alex as well although Chris could not fathom how it had been done. All he knew was Alex was now as dangerous as Mary, possibly even more. Her surprise lasted only seconds because in a moment, she rose to her feet. She appeared not at all afraid of the bullets and as she raised her hand, they all saw what she was wearing around her wrist.  
  
"You know why!" Chris snapped angrily because this was not the time to discuss it.  
  
"Mr. Tanner," Ezra spoke, knowing that both men were riding on a wave of emotion and now was the time to be alert with all their faculties intact. The creature that had been Mary Travis Larabee was somewhere in here with them and she had proven once already that she was capable of taking them all on and winning. "We need to focus."  
  
Vin did not want to imagine that Alex was as lost to him as Mary now appeared to Chris. As he watched the woman he loved, her eyes glowing as she snarled in almost feral rage at the men shooting at her, fearless of the bullets that could end her life at any second, he knew that she was not Alex. He did not know who it was that was facing them with such power, he just knew it was not Alex.  
  
Slowly she raised her hand and the gem in the centre of her palm started to glow again. Vin knew what was coming just as surely as he had felt the ribs crack when she had flung him aside.  
  
"Josiah, get down!" He shouted, trying to warn them.  
  
They had been taking refuge behind a boulder but when that invisible force she commanded struck, the large rock, which easily stood over Josiah's head shattered like sand. Debris sprayed forth in all direction, raining the men behind it with rocks and shards of jagged rock. As Josiah, J.D., Buck and Nathan scrambled out of the way, covered with fine grains of pulverized rock and dust, Alex took another step forward, this time there was no doubt she had meant to finish them as completely as she had obliterated the boulder moments ago. As much as he pained him, Vin had to stop it. He knew if he just talk to her, he could reach her.  
  
Without thinking, he rushed forward from his hiding place into the centre of the cavern where she could see him.  
  
"VIN!" Chris shouted angrily, unable to believe that the young man could do this stupid, stupid thing! "Goddamn it! Get back here!" He almost went after the tracker when he felt a firm hand pulling him back before he too gave himself away.  
  
"Chris you cannot go after him, we still have another problem!" The gambler reminded and Chris realized what he was talking about. Of course, Mary. She was still here somewhere, lying low for the moment, the way a smart hunter would do. She was watching in the darkness, waiting for them to show themselves so she could track them. Chris stared after Vin, unable to help his friend and feeling his heart die a little because he knew what was coming even if Vin did not.  
  
In truth Vin did know how dangerous an act he had committed. However, at the time, he could think of no other way to stop Alex from using that terrible weapon on the others. At least now, she would just focus her attack on him and perhaps if he spoke to her, try to reach that part of her that knew who he was, maybe she would remember that he loved her and she loved him. "Alex," Vin said slowly, holding his ground now that he was before her. "Its me, Vin. Please darlin'', you know me."  
  
She looked at him and lowered her hand.  
  
Vin felt his heart pound as she stared at him for a few seconds with an expression on her face, he could not fathom. If anything convinced him that she was another person, it was that inability to tell what she was thinking. Vin had always known what was inside Alex's heart by just staring into her eyes. She moved towards him slowly and even though she was dressed strangely, Vin could not deny how beautiful she appeared in her strange robe even if she did seem somewhat mercurial. He felt his heart pound as she approached him because she had not tried to attack. Instead, she was studying him as if trying to decipher what he was.  
  
"Its me," he continued to say. "Its Vin. Come on Alex, try to remember." He pleaded. "You're wearing my ring on your finger."  
  
She obviously had not realized that it was there because she instinctively looked at her hand as he spoke. The band of gold remained around her finger and she observed it for a few seconds before her eyes raised to meet his again.  
  
"Vin," she whispered.  
  
"Yeah darlin'," he grinned hearing her voice not that awful stranger's using her lips to speak. "Its me."  
  
"Vin," she mused again, as if it was hard to speak. She was close enough to touch him now and Vin felt a surge of hope flare in his chest because she knew him! She recognized him!  
  
"Vin! Get away from her!" He heard Chris shout again.  
  
Chris could only watch with rising horror as Alex reached for Vin, placing her hand on his cheek as she drew him close. For a minute, he dared to hope that perhaps Vin had reached Alex and with that the possibility that the same might be done for Mary as well. Vin was drawn to Alex's lips as their mouths met in a kiss of passion. Chris and Ezra stared as they all did as Alex continued to kiss Vin, her hand sliding around his neck, slipping past the strands of hair until finally, she reached skin.  
  
And then it all went to hell.  
  
The gemstone came to life as she clenched her fist around his throat and there was one frozen moment in time when Chris heard Vin choke as the loud squelch of snapping bone screamed loud in all their ears. The tracker's body went limp in her grip and she withdrew from him with a smile on her lips that was almost beatific in its exultation at the death just caused. Without saying another word, she viciously pulled the ring from her finger and dropped it on the ground about the same time Vin tumbled to the dirt.  
  
"VIN!" Chris screamed, seeing the unusual angle of his neck and knowing with absolute certainty that it was broken. He might still be alive but the red haze of rage running through Chris' mind did not permit him to believe it. He was about to run out there and face her, not caring whether or not she could do the same or who she might have been when suddenly, something slammed into his back.  
  
Chris felt forward into the dirt, gasping in pain from the blow delivered to his kidneys. His legs felt weak and he tried to turn around when suddenly, he was hit with the most mind numbing pain he had ever felt in his life. He tore through him like hot tendrils until all he could do was scream mindlessly from it. He heard Ezra calling out his name, trying to help but for some unknown reason, the gambler seemed very far away after a few seconds.  
  
Sekhmet watched the man in black writhing in pain as she delivered to him one discharge of her weapon and then turned around to repeat the procedure on his companion. She regarded the smaller man and decided that he might do for what Isis required and perhaps she would entertain herself with him when the breeding was done. His agony made him easy to handle and she dragged him easily towards the Chapaii, leaving the other to suffer his agonies.  
  
Isis was keeping the others at bay with the ribbon weapon at her disposal, blasting everything in sight until they were scrambling like children. How fortunate Sekhmet had found the Zat'nuk'atel weapon among the relics left behind during their time in this enclave. It made this entire engagement pass all the swifter since she had no desire to remain in the world of the Tau'ri for very much longer.  
  
"I have your breeder." Sekhmet declared. "It is time to go."  
  
Isis looked over the new acquisition briefly for there was little time for a prolonged inspection before nodding in approval. "He will do."  
  
While their attacker scrambled to gain their bearings, Isis activated the Chapaii, entering the glyphs that would take them to Netjer.  
  
Nathan watched them bringing the strange device to life, illuminating each panel they touched. He did not know why he was studying them, only knowing that it was important if Ezra was to come out of this alive. He could hear Chris groaning in pain and he knew Vin was dead, somewhere behind him, Josiah was coughing out dust and J.D. was struggling to stay on his feet. Suddenly, the ring of stone they had previously ignored, gushed to life in a sight Nathan would not forget until his dying day. The connection that the strange symbols and the order they had been delivered on the smaller device had someone created this gateway, flared in his mind. Nathan quickly memorized the sequence as he watched Alex and Mary disappear into the shimmer in the centre of the ring, taking Ezra with them.  
  
He had to remember or they would never see Ezra Standish again.  
  
  



	4. The Goa'uld

 

This could not be happening.

A part of Chris Larabee refused to believe it when his mind finally cleared and the agony endured by his physical self, diminished enough to inflict upon him the even greater suffering of emotional pain. Every limb ached as he tried to get to his feet, the memory of the excruciating pain stabbed at him even as he stood up shakily with Nathan’s help. Chris knew where the others were as he limped forward to join them. He did not know if he could stand seeing what they were witnessing at this moment but he was apart of the circle and so he had to be there.

No one spoke because they were too shocked by what had happened.

His breath caught as he saw Buck pulling off his coat and laying it over Vin’s motionless form. His old friend looked up sombrely when he saw Chris approached, the grief in his eyes was so thick it was a knife driven into Chris’s heart. He had no idea that Buck’s sorrow was mirrored in his own pained expression. Buck stepped away as Chris lowered himself unto his knees with a slight groan of pain and forced himself to look under the coat even though it took a supreme effort not to scream in rage and denial. Unfortunately burying himself in unreality was not Chris’s way of handling grief. He plunged into it readily, allowing it to drown him in its black depths.

Removing the coat with trembling fingers, Chris found himself at the empty shell that was Vin Tanner. The discolouration and unusual angle of his neck left no doubt as to the cause of death. Whatever that thing was that now inhabited Alexandra Styles’s body, it had snapped his neck like kindling, taking from this world the best friend he ever had. The anger inside Chris constricted his throat until he could not breathe. He had to stand up and walk away or else he would have put his fist through something and start screaming.

"Chris," Buck went after him as he staggered away. "Are you all right?"

"No I am not alright Buck!" He snarled in response. "Vin is dead, Ezra is Christ only knows where! Alex has become a goddamn killer and Mary…" he started to falter as _that_ began to sink in. "The kindest thing I can probably do for Mary at this point is to kill her! No I ain’t even close being fucking all right."

"That may be," Buck agreed, unable to refute anything Chris was saying and wishing he could allow the gunslinger time to cope with the lost of a wife and three friends but he could not. The situation was tenuous enough as it was and while they had their own grief to contend with, the fact remained Ezra was still alive and despite the condition they were in, so were Mary and Alex. "But this ain’t the time to go to pieces Chris, we need you. Ezra’s still out there and we got to get him back."

Chris turned on him viciously, wondering how anyone could ask anything of him now, when Vin was lying dead and Mary might as well be. "Get him back from where?" He demanded. "They’re gone Buck! They went through that....that…" Chris looked at the circle of stone, unable to even think a name to describe it. "Whatever that is!" He gave up when he was unable to find one that seemed to suit.

"We can’t give up on them!" Buck roared angrily, feeling the same pain Chris did but Buck knew that if he gave in now, if he allowed Chris to wallow in his grief like the man was itching to do, Chris would never emerge from it. It was like this when Sarah died and Buck knew all the signs, he could see it coming as surely as it were something tangible in front of his face. He refused to let Chris give up then and he sure as hell was not about to do it now. Not when there was some measure of hope for their lost friends, no matter how remote it might seem. While Mary and the others were still alive, Buck Wilmington was not going to give her up for dead, not her, not Ezra, not any of them.

"Go to hell Buck!" Chris swore, angry and wanting to hurt something or someone. Buck’s provocation was driving his rage past the point of control and they faced each other with both tempers spiralling rapidly out of control. "That woman is my wife and I want her back more than anything but I don’t know how to help her or to bring her back and I can’t watch what she’s become!"

"You’re a goddamn coward Chris!" Buck roared. "You can’t stand?" He glared at his oldest friend in the world unwilling let the matter rest, no matter what the consequences. "What the hell do you think she’s going through? She’s still in there somewhere, trapped inside herself, watching the monster that’s taken her body do things that she can’t imagine! Are you just going to leave Mary like that! Even a dog deserves to be put out of its misery Chris!"

That was the last straw. Chris launched himself at Buck and the big man was ready to take the challenge, more than ready to trade blows when Josiah intervened, trying to prise them apart before things deteriorated any further, as if they were not dismal as it is.

"Stop it the both of you!" His gravelly voice resonated with authority. "This ain’t the time for this!"

"Stay out of it Josiah!" Chris shouted as he tried breaking free of the that Josiah was using to keep him and Buck from brawling like a couple of kids.

"No! I ain’t gonna let you both act like stupid vengeful children!" The preacher bellowed loudly, his own anguish at what had taken place inside this cavern surfacing as he watched his friends tear each other apart. when this was the time they needed to be united the most. Vin Tanner meant as much to him as any of them and he hated things had come to this point. There were dark events a foot here and the Lord was not likely to help them if they were behaving like this.

"I ain’t the one who’s giving up on Ezra!" Buck defended himself vehemently, just as furious because like Josiah, he saw the need for action not remorse. Ezra Standish may have been a scheming, self serving, morally deprived human being but he was _their_ scheming, self serving, morally deprived human being. Buck was not willing to abandon him to whatever lay on the other side of the mysterious passageway Mary and Alex had taken him through.

"Shut up Buck! I want to help Ezra as much as you do!" Chris roared furiously, incensed Buck could think him so willing to discard one of his own men. Chris knew they had to help Ezra but he had no idea how to do that and it was this lack of knowledge that was making them all crazy. "I just don’t know how we’re going to do it!"

"We’ll got to try something!" Buck returned, accusation glaring from his eyes as it burned into Chris. Both of them were so wrapped up in their rage they did not notice Nathan trying to get a word in edge wise.

"Try what!" Chris demanded, when suddenly a loud sound filled the room. All men immediately fell silent, their anger at each other dissipating as their eyes immediately sough out the source of the noise. The inner ring of the circle was moving again, locking into sequence as it did before, pausing briefly at each symbol as like the combination turns of safe. 

"Get away from it!" Nathan ordered, ushering them all away from its path. He had seen the surge of energy that gushed forth from the ring when Alex and Mary brought it to life earlier. There were too many unknowns about the device to demand anything but utmost caution to be exercised when dealing with it. They hurried away from the thing, mesmerised by the strange sequence and the unearthly rumble it seemed to make as it rested momentarily on those peculiar symbols engraved along its dark surface.

"What the hell is it doing?" Buck demanded as they took cover a suitable distance away from the object.

"I don’t know," Chris stared at it as he saw something beginning to happen when the seventh symbol was locked into place.

When the device had been activated the first time, Chris had still been screaming in pain from whatever Mary did to him and so he missed the terrifying sight of what Nathan was calling a portal, being opened. He watched a shimmer of light appear in the centre of the ring, resembling the surface of water with sunlight bouncing off the ripples of iridescent waves. Suddenly, the explosion of energy Nathan described gushed forward, streaking half way across the cavern before recoiling back sharply into that glittering veneer covering the hollow of the ring.

Chris emerged from their hiding place, his hand going for his gun because the effect once finished, did not looked threatening. Besides, it just occurred to him that if this was a door way to some place else, then it might swing both ways and that could mean they were about to have visitors. He motioned the others to follow, who naturally took his decision to step forward as a sign it might be safe to do so. Buck followed Chris closely, his own gun brandished as they waited with abated breath for something to emerge.

A few seconds later, it did.

Someone stepped out of the shimmer but whether or not they were human was difficult to say. Automatically, Chris drew both his guns, with no hesitation in pulling the trigger if it appeared the new arrival offered any threat. After seeing what Alex had done to Vin, Chris was taking no chances. The others did the same and the being emergin in the strange coverings, froze in place. Every inch of him was hidden under a smooth material appearing nothing like cloth and he was aware immediately there was danger. Behind him, three other figures stepped through the portal with similar surprise after realising what lay before them.

"Move and we’ll kill you!" Chris warned and this time he meant it. He would shoot them all dead if any of them so much as breathed wrong. Although he did not recognised all the equipment they were carrying with them,  he had enough experience with strange travellers to know that what was slung around their shoulders were weapons and extremely dangerous ones. "Drop the guns!" He ordered.

The figure in the lead stiffened at the suggestion. After a moment, he responded. "Not a chance in hell."

Chris did not expect that response because his voice sounded normal, not at all like the inhuman voices Mary and Alex used after they were possessed, whatever one called it. However, he was not about to be questioned on this point. "Drop the guns or I will fill you so up many holes you’ll be dead before you hit the ground."

"Jack…." One of them started to say, looking at the leader in anxiety even though Chris could not see his face.

"Carter, where are we?" The leader demanded. "This doesn’t look like the SGC." There was almost sarcasm in that voice.

"Chris," Buck started to feel uncomfortable. However strangely these people were dressed, they did not sound like thecreatures who stole Mary and Alex’s bodies. In fact, they sounded very much like people lost and confused at where they were. "Maybe, we ought to think about this."

"Like Vin thought about it?" Chris bit back sharply and silenced Buck immediately for they all could not forget one of their number was lying on the floor of this very cavern, dead, because he foolishly believed the woman he loved was still the person he knew.

"I don’t understand." Another one of the strangers stammered with just as much confusion and added more to their bewilderment because she was undoubtedly female. "I dialled the address for home. We should be at the SGC."

"Am I the only whose noticing that we’re not?" The leader retorted, his annoyance beginning to turn into anger.

On that level at least, Chris could empathise and his own resolve at keeping this people under the point of a gun, wavered as he started to realise perhaps they were as human as they sounded. Furthermore, if they were aware of how to use the portal, then perhaps they might be able to explain what had happened to Mary and Alex and how the seven could find Ezra. "You’re in the Territory." Chris offered.

"The Territory?" He sounded confused before the other man spoke. 

"Jack, I think he might mean New Mexico. It's what they used to call it before statehood." 

"New Mexico?" The leader exclaimed in stunned. "We’re in New Mexico?" He turned to the woman and demanded. "How can we be in New Mexico, there is no gate in New Mexico!"

Chris let out a sigh of exasperation, more or less deciding these people were no danger to him or his friends. "Alright, who are you people?"

"I’m Doctor Daniel Jackson," one of them stepped forward, fumbling for the covering over his head.

"Daniel…" The leader started to protest.

"Jack, we’re not where we’re supposed to be and we need to know how we got here." The man named Daniel replied as if he were talking to a child. "Besides, if we don’t tell them something, they’re liable to shoot us."

"You got that right." Chris confirmed, resting a little easier even though he was not lowering his gun. Doctor Daniel Jackson as he called himself, removed the hood that was covering his face and revealed himself to be very much human, not much older than Vin Chris estimated. With dark gold hair, he stared at them from behind steel rimmed glasses and possessed a manner that was not at all menacing but rather unassuming. Just from the way he spoke, Chris could tell immediately he was not a man who was comfortable with violence.

"What year is this?" Daniel asked once he had shown himself to them. He had been studying these men the moment they had stepped through the gate and discovered they had not arrived at the SCG. Even though this was undoubtedly a Goa’uld enclave, he could see the evidence of their technology throughout the room, including the sarcophagus lying at the far end, the fact these men believed they were in New Mexico, made the whole thing impossible. Yet they were here and he needed answers to explain how SGI had come arrived at this point in time.

"Aw not this again…" Buck started to groan. "1879." He declared. "Let me guess, you’re from the future right?"

Daniel looked genuinely shocked. "The year 2000 actually."

"Daniel enough." Jack O’Neill ordered when he finally removed the radiation suit as they were all doing at the moment. "What’s going on here?" He asked, this time directing his question to Chris whom he realised was his counterpart in this time at the present moment.

"What’s going on?" Buck replied before Chris could answer. "We just saw two women whom we care about, his wife and a very pretty lady doctor, suddenly turn into murdering monsters who killed one of us and took the other through that there…whatever the hell that thing is!" Buck blurted out angrily, not possessing Chris’s patience in this situation.

"Oh hell," Jack swore out loud, realising not only had they not arrived in the time period they should have but they had brought two Goa’ulds with them. "Let me guess, their eyes glowed?" He asked the man in black because he seemed to be in charge of things here.

"Yeah," Chris nodded, "Their eyes glowed. What happened to my wife?" He asked in a low voice, only seconds from tearing out the man’s throat if he was not given his answers. While Buck may think he was patient, Chris was actually biding him time, trying to see if these people could provide him with some inkling of what had taken Mary so he could fight it.

Daniel had started moving away from the others, having seen the bodies. Particularly of the two naked women whose corpses were rapidly decaying. No one seemed to be paying much notice to them possibly because there was a fresher body lying in the dirt, covered by someone’s coat indicating he was someone important to the men assembled here.

"Jack," he motioned them to the empty husks previously occupied by Semkhet and Isis. "Over here."

"Jesus Christ!" Nathan exclaimed in horror as he realised the presence of the two bodies. "What’s happening to them?"

"Once its leaves its old body, the corpse starts decaying fast." Jack answered, meeting Chris’s gaze, understanding why there was so much paranoia running through the group. If this was 1879 and these men had encountered the Goa’uld, there was a lot of reason for them to be a little traumatised by the event, especially when one of those taken was a wife. It still pained him to think Skaara was now a Goa’uld host after how the much the boy had come to mean to him on Abydos. He had seen the agony endured by Daniel losting Sharee so he could only imagine what this stranger in black must be going through.

"What is it?" Chris asked softly, his eyes now transfixed on the withering bodies before him. Now he knew why they wanted Alex. They needed her body because their own was dying. Had it been like that for Mary too?

"It’s a parasite." Sam took the opportunity to explain. "Its enters the body through the mouth or neck. Once it’s inside, it has complete possession."

"What about the person inside?" Josiah asked. "What happens to them?"

"They’re in there." She whispered, knowing from personal experience how it felt to be confined inside one’s mind with only a Goa’uld for company, helplessly watching it use her body against her will. She counted herself lucky that Jolinahr was Tokra and not the bloodthirsty creature that was a system lord. "Trapped but powerless to do anything. The parasite has complete control over the mind and while the person is still in there, it cannot do anything but watch."

"Oh my God." Nathan whispered. "You mean Miss Alex would have seen that thing kill Vin?" He tried to imagine what must be going through Alex’s mind right now, in whatever dark placed she was imprisoned. He could not imagine anything so terrible as to watch a love one die in front of them and be powerless to do anything about it.

"Yes," Sam nodded sombrely. "You remember _everything_."

"Jack," Daniel spoke up having moved to the sarcophagus and discovering that it was in perfect working order. "This thing works." 

"Are you sure?" Jack strode over to the others. Chris had more or less forgone the effort of considering these strangers a threat, since they were freely admitting to him what happened to Mary and were providing him with much needed information about the enemy they were facing.

"I don’t understand how this place could be here?" Sam replied looking around the cavern as her commanding officer went to investigate the sarcophagus. "We only knew of two gates on Earth."

"What exactly is this gate?" Buck inquired.

"Well," Sam debated how to explain it to him. She had reservations of telling him too much because she was worried about the effect it would have on the time line but it was more or less a moot point with them witnessing arrival of SG1 and the Goa’uld through the gate. "It’s a gateway through the stars."

"You’re joking." He looked at her in astonishment. "You mean the ones up in the sky?"

"Yes," she nodded and saw him struggling to grasp the enormity of it all. She could not blame him of course. If 1879 was really the time, then he might as well be from the stone age where the gate was concerned. "This takes us from one planet to another instantly. All we have to do is step through."

"Wow!" JD exclaimed, his youth allowing no restraint on his enthusiasm. "You actually travel through one star to the other?"

Sam could not help but smile at his way of putting it and as she looked up at the man with the moustache, he was sharing the moment with her. "Something like that." Sam nodded and then turned to the older man. "I take it they left as soon as they had new bodies?" She ventured a guess at what had taken place here prior to SG1’s arrival.

"Yeah," Buck nodded sadly. "Woman who killed Vin over there," he motioned to Vin’s body lying on the ground nearby, "she was his fiancee."

"Oh God," Sam gasped. "I am sorry." She said genuinely horrified by what a terrible thing it must have been for all of them. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "Colonel!" She brushed past Buck and hurried to Jack and Daniel who were examining the sarcophagus.

"What more surprises?" Jack looked over his shoulder at her sarcastically.

"If the sarcophagus works, can’t we put him in there?" She looked at the dead man lying under the coat. "I mean if the Goa’uld’s arrival here was an accident then that man should not be dead! If we are to maintain the time line, he needs to live and we’ve got to bring these women back."

"What do you mean, put him in there?" Chris interjected, feeling like he was five steps behind and he supposed he was. "What good will that do? He’s dead."

"Carter I don’t know." Jack said reluctantly. "We’re messing with history here."

"I believe Doctor Carter is right." Teal’c who had remained silent until this point remarked. He had been quiet because he suspected he intimidated the humans in the room with him somewhat. "The disruption to your world’s history has suffered much already. If there is chance to repair the damage, it must be taken for we have no idea how this will effect the future events of the Tau’RI."

Jack frowned in distaste because he disliked using Goa’uld technology, especially the sarcophagus. He remembered how Daniel had become after prolonged use of the device and discouraged anyone from utilising its life regenerating effects. However, at this point in time, it appeared they had not any choice in the matter. Carter and Teal’c were correct in their belief the integrity of the timeline had to be maintained. If this man was not meant to die and had done so because of an accidental encounter with a Goa’uld, who knows what repercussions his absence may have on future events? It might be minor fluctuation and then again it could be a major one. Whatever the case, they could not take the gamble.

"Alright," Jack let out sigh of resignation. "Put him in."

"Put him in?" Chris demanded as he saw the woman and the imposing black man making moves towards Vin’s dead body. "You ain’t putting him anywhere until you tell us what you’re doing." Just to emphasise the point, Josiah and Nathan took up position near Vin’s body, refusing to allow anyone to disturb it until explanations were forthcoming.

"Do you want him back or not?" Jack growled, his mood not improving by the debate considering what they were doing was bringing a man back to life.

"Back?" Nathan’s eyes widened by the implication. "He’s dead! How can you bring him back?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably where he was standing, never being able to explain the sarcophagus healing properties to any satisfactory degree. He glanced at Sam and Daniel, hoping they would jump in and relieve him of the chore. However, judging by the uneasy expressions on their face, Jack did not expect a rescue to be forthcoming. Besides, the man in black was looking at him and Jack had the impression he wanted to hear the truth from Jack who had clearly established himself as the leader of the SG1 team.

"That thing over there," Jack glanced in the direction of the sarcophagus. "The Goa’ulds use it to keep their bodies young and healthy for a long time."

"Goa’uld?" JD tried to pronounce it and could not the inflections right.

"That’s what we call them." Daniel volunteered helpfully.

"Right," Jack nodded, glancing at his feet before facing the man in black once again. "You got a name?" 

"Chris Larabee." Chris replied shortly. "Keep going, you said they use it to keep bodies healthy." The gunslinger prompted, wanting to hear this if there was even a slight chance Vin could be restored to them again.

"Nice to meet you too," Jack muttered under his breath and continued. "It keeps bodies alive and young, even ones that have been hurt or diseased. It can heal just about anything and on occasion, we’ve found it can revive a body that hasn’t been dead for long. So if your friend over there has any chance of waking up, we’ve got to get him in there right now."

It was too unbelievable, all of it. However, it was no less harder to believe than anything else he had seen today and the truth was, if it could give Vin his life back, Chris was willing to risk it, no matter how far fetched it may sound.

"Let them do it." 

"You sure about this Chris?" Nathan asked. "We don’t know anything about that contraption."

"It can’t hurt Vin any more than he already is." Chris said softly. "Go on," he looked at Sam and Teal’c. "Do what you have to."

They did not move until Jack nodded his approval to proceed. The two members of SG1 acted quickly and with Teal’c brushing past Josiah and Nathan who had stepped aside, allowing him access to the dead tracker. Teal’c picked up the corpse without any assistance while Sam returned to the sarcophagus, examining the device to see if it was in working order as Daniel believed. While Sam respected Daniel in every way, he was by profession an Egyptologist and linguist while she was the one with all the technological expertise regarding Goa’uld technology.

"Have you seen this work before?" Buck asked Jack as Teal’c walked past them.

"A couple of times." Jack replied, neglecting to tell them he had used the device himself even though he had never liked it very much. "It works."

The group gathered around the sarcophagus as same activated the controls and the machine came alive with light oozing through the ornate plating that covered it. The sarcophagus gave off an eerie glow as Teal’c lowered Vin’s body into its smooth insides. The surface illuminated as soon his body made contact.

"This thing will bring him back to life?" JD asked with unmasked awe as contact with Vin’s body activated the device’s locking mechanism and the enormous lid slid to a close over him. They stepped back and watched him disappear, not daring to hope he could be walking amongst them again.

"Now what?" Buck asked Sam, feeling most comfortable talking to her of all the strangers that had come through the gate.

"Now we wait." 

* * *

Nightfall came very quickly following the arrival of the travellers. Since they could not leave while Vin was inside the device, there was no choice but to build a campfire and take care of the bodies, not only of the Goa'uld hosts, but also that of the unfortunate excavation team that who uncovered this underground bunker. They worked in silence as they performed the burial, with the same reverence given to the former hosts of Isis and Sekhmet as they did to the dead men. As Daniel explained to the seven, these hosts were just as innocent as Mary and Alex had been when they were taken and should be afforded the same respect. Josiah even went so far as to say a few words as they buried the dead in the desert outside.

Following that, they sat around the campfire and waited for Vin to emerge from the sarcophagus.

No one had very much to say at first, being lost in their own thoughts as to the events of the day. Sam Carter spent most of her time trying to understand why they had been sent back through time to this distant age in their history. Perhaps it was just serendipity that allowed this bunker to be uncovered at the same time the Goa’uld were attempting to use the gate. It was impossible to predict the chain of events when time was so completely out of sync. Sam was certain the solar disruption on Planet PX250 had been the cause of their unexpected arrival here.

A solar flare had once before sent the SG1 team back to the year 1969 and while this was a great deal farther back and the situation more critical because there would be no General Hammond to help them, Sam believed there was a way home. They had access to the gate, which meant they had access to races with the technology to help them get back to their own time. The Nox and Tollan for example were more than capable of assisting them in such an endeavour or even reproduce the same surges of energy that sent them here in the first place. Even so, the priority at this point was not them getting home but the recover of the women and the man who had become victims of the Goa’uld.

Daniel in the meantime, busied himself by conducting an examination of the bunker Doctor Faulkner would never be able to perform himself. He felt saddened the excavation team should die so tragically when this find should have been the discovery of their lives. As he continued his studies of the place, the young man named JD stayed close to him, listening to his discoveries and ruminations with complete fascination. He asked questions and paid attention to Daniel’s answers and the linguist found he liked JD a great deal and was reminded of Skaara. Of course, he did not bring that observation to Jack’s attention.

After awhile, Daniel had learnt enough about the place to develop something of a hypothesis about this place and its strange origins. They had encountered cultures with a North American influence and always assumed they had come through the gate located in Egypt. However, the presence of a stargate here seemed to explain how those tribes had come to be seeded on worlds half way across the galaxy.

Chris Larabee said nothing, merely staring into the fire as they waited. Most of the conversation was being made by Buck who had a thousand questions about the Goa’uld and who they were, while Sam answered most of his queries. As always, Buck was quick to charm the only woman in the place and while she fended off his flirtations with good humour, it was not hard to see she was slightly taken in by them as well.

Chris listened quietly, not saying much even though he listened to everything being said. Despite what had taken place today, Chris still had trouble believing any of this had happened, that Mary had turned into a ruthless killer and Vin was dead. Even though the strangers through the gate assured him the device they placed the tracker within would bring him back to the friends who mourned him, Chris still felt empty. His thoughts seemed singularly focussed on Mary.Where was she at this moment and what had she become? As he listened to the strangers talk about these Goa’uld, Chris could hardly imagine what terrible things she was forced to witness while something controlled her body and forced it to perform callous acts of cruelty. He had seen the creature in her eyes and knew with absolute certainty it was not his Mary and it ached each time, he thought of how helplessly he had lost her.

"So what’s the story Daniel?" Jack asked when Daniel and JD returned to the campfire.

"Well there is evidence everywhere this place was devoted to Isis." Daniel let his gaze sweep across the cavern. Judging by how much spacial degradation inside the bunker, I’m going to have to say it hasn’t seen traffic in about two thousands years. It’s hard to say for certain, I need more specialised equipment."

"This thing has been alive for two thousand years?" Josiah asked incredulously.

"Yes," Daniel answered. "With the sarcophagus, they can keep their bodies well preserved for hundreds of years and when it finally starts to decay they move." He did not meet Chris’s eyes when he spoke. "That is also why the ancient races considered them gods."

"I think I know where they went." Nathan spoke out finally. With all that was taking place around them, what with the arrival of this strangers from the future, not to mention Vin’s death and now possible resurrection, the healler had forgotten all about the fact he had memorised the sequence of glyphs, as Daniel called them, on the dialling device.

"What do you mean, you think you know where they’ve gone?" Chris threw an accusatory glare at Nathan for not bringing this up sooner.

"Take it easy Chris," Buck warned, knowing Chris needed to be reminded some times he was not the only grieving for lost friends. "Nathan are you sure?"

"When they went in," Nathan explained quickly, knowing Chris’s temper was poised on such a tenuous edge at the moment, it was best he volunteered what he knew quickly. "I paid attention to the glyphs they touched. At the time I figured it was important if there was any chance of getting Ezra back. I still remember the seqience."

The SG1 team exchanged glances because they knew as well as the new friends encountered in this time, what it meant.

"If he knows where they went, we can go after them." Daniel replied, stating the obvious.

"Colonel we have to," Sam added her voice into the discussion. "We have to bring those people back. We have no idea how this will effect future events. We could go home and finding nothing where it’s supposed to be. Isis and Sekhmet coming back here is not some predestination paradox, it’s an accident. We have to repair the damage."

Chris Larabee spoke. "We’re going with or without you."

Jack met the man’s eyes and saw he was perfectly serious about using the gate. "That is not an option. This whole mess with time involves you too. Anything happens to you in there and we’d be back to square one."

"That’s your problem." Chris said firmly, making certain Jack understood how determined he was on this point. "I’m going to get my wife."

"You would not even know how to find her, Chris Larabee." Teal’c interjected. "Isis is a Goa’uld System Lord, she would personal guards around her. Even if you are to reach her and Sekhmet, you will be faced with the same difficulty you encountered when you attempted to subdue her here. You will have even greater difficulty with Sekhmet. Her name is feared as the Eye of Ra, she has a great thirst for inflicting pain and I am told she is very good at it."

"I don’t care." Chris was adamantly. "She’s got my wife and if it means I have to kill her to set Mary free, then that’s how its got to be. Anything has to be better than letting Mary suffer for centuries while this thing uses her up."

"And we’re all willing to go with him." Buck remarked, giving Chris a slight nod, indicating the others were with him in and body and spirit. "Mary, Alex and Ezra are not just names in a history book of how things are supposed to be for you, they’re _our_ friends and we ain’t letting them suffer the kind of hell you’re talking about. If it means going through that thing and facing whatever lies behind it, then we’re gonna do it. We’d rather have you with us but we’ll do it alone if we have to."

Chris did not speak for a moment because he was too overwhelmed by the intensity of Buck’s words and met the eyes of his old friend to convey a silent note of thanks, not just to Buck but to the rest of his friends who were gathered around the fire. He turned to Jack once again. "What’s it going to be? You’re going to help us?"

Jack found a slow smile stealing across his face despite the enormity of what this gunfighter was demanding. He decided he liked Chris Larabee to the point of even seeing something in the man he could relate to. He wondered secretly what it was that twisted this man’s soul so out of shape and knew without actually hearing the details, Jack had been there too. Their souls seemed similarly haunted. Despite the risks to the time line, history and all those other world shaping events, Jack also knew if he were to find out where Skaara was this minute, there would be no force on heaven and earth that could keep him from going after the boy. This man had lost a wife and Jack knew personally how terrible that must be.

He only had to look at Daniel to be reminded.

"I guess we don’t have much of choice." He conceded finally. "Okay, you come with us but you do it _our_ way." He met Chris’s gaze directly. "You don’t know what’s on the other side of the gate, we do. We’ve been there and we’ve fought them. If we can get to your wife and your friends, we’ll get them back but you’ve got to know we’re facing big odds if they’re gone to a planet where they have control. The people on these planets think the Goa’uld are gods, they ready to die for them."

"People tend to get mighty protective about their faith." Josiah nodded in understanding; after all he came from a religious denomination that was willing to resort to burnings at the stake to maintain its integrity.

"We know the risks," Buck answered for all of them. "We’ll do what it takes to get them back." He glanced at Chris and added just so their leader did not have any ideas to the contrary. "We’ll also do it your way. You know the land better than we do."

"What happens if we do find them?" JD had to ask. In all their determination to retrieve Mary, Alex and Ezra, it appeared no one had given any thought to the question. "If those things are still inside of them, how do we get them out?"

"That will not be easy." Teal’c replied, seeing how uncomfortable his companions were to answer the younger man’s question. "The Goa’uld will do everything in its power to remain in the body of its host. It will not leave willingly. It can only be induced to do so if it believes that the host is dying."

Jack was glad that Teal’c was offering this information because he did not relish telling Chris Larabee it would be near impossible to force a Goa’uld to vacate its host body. Memories of what his friend and fellow officer, Kowalski had endured surfaced in Jack’s mind. The technology to remove the Goa’uld host did not exist a hundred and twenty years into the future, it certainly did not now.

Neither Jack nor Teal’c have to make that revelation because Chris was perceptive enough to guess what they were trying to put to him. "You’re saying that it will kill her before it lets her go."

"Yeah," Jack nodded, having no wish to lie to the man because he had to be prepared for the worst.

"Wait a minute Jack," Daniel spoke up because he hated the idea Chris Larabee would lose his wife the way he lost Sharee. The past three years since she had gone was a slow torture for Daniel because she was not dead, merely out of reach. It would have been so much simpler if the Goa’uld just killed her, at least he could mourn her and continue with his life. Instead, they took her from him, a small piece at a time and that was far worse than knowing she dead. Since he joined SG1, Sharee had become Daniel’s Holy Grail which he was starting to realise he may never find. He wanted to spare Chris that hell. "If we find her, we could take her to Thor’s Hammer."

"Colonel, that’s it!" Sam exclaimed in excitement. "We take them to Thor’s hammer. Kendra had a Goa’uld inside of her for years and she came out of it all right. If Larabee’s wife and the doctor have only been blended for only a day or so, there should be no reason why it can’t do the same for them."

"What is this thing?" Chris asked, trying not to let himself be carried away by any false hopes. There was no reason to believe any of this could end up the way he wanted and Chris was not one to linger on what ifs.

"It’s hard to explain," Sam turned to him to try anyway. "But Thor's Hammer was built by a race even older than the Goa’uld. They must have been enemies as some point because the device was built specifically to remove a Goa’uld symbiote from its host body without harming the host."

"So if we take Mary and Alex to this Hammer thing, it will get rid of the Goa’ulds inside them?" Buck asked tentatively.

"More or less." Samantha said with a smile. "If we can get them there, that is exactly what it will do."

"Then what in the hell are we waiting for?" A lazy voice drawled behind them. "Let’s go find them."

"Vin!" JD exclaimed as they all turned around to find the tracker appearing out of the darkness, beyond the sphere of the fire’s illumination. Vin looked as if he had just woke from a deep sleep, rubbing wakefulness back into his eyes as he approached them. He had woken up in that strange tomb like device and had a hundred questions as to why he was placed there.

Immediately, the rest of the seven jumped to their feet to greet the tracker’s arrival except Chris, Jack noticed. The gunslinger hung back as the younger man they had revived in the sarcophagus was being inundated with grateful slaps on the back and expressions of relief over his well being.

Chris let out a secret sigh of relief, hiding the emotion  running through him away from the others because Chris was not one to share how he felt, no matter how pleased he was. Turning to Jack as the others surrounded Vin in happiness he said quietly. "Thank you for this."

"Its not going to be easy you know," Jack reiterated now that he had a moment alone with Chris, without the rest of the seven in attendance. "I know you want your wife back and we’re going to do everything to see that happens but you’ve got to expect the worse. We’ve been fighting Goa’ulds for three years now and I’m telling its going to be hard. We’re going to have trouble just getting through their guards."

"I ain’t good at taking orders," Chris admitted reluctantly.

"I got that impression." Jack remarked with a faint smile. "Ex – army?"

"Yeah," Chris nodded. "Union Blue."

"Thought so," The colonel chuckled. "Just keep your head down and take our lead. We’ll get her back." He replied with more confidence than he felt.

"If not," Chris took a deep breath having thought about this long and hard during the last few hours, paying close attention to what Samantha Carter had been saying about the Goa’uld and their ways. He knew he could do this thing as hard as it might be and what would happen to him after would be anyone’s guess. However, he had no choice, he had to do it because he loved Mary and he refused to let her suffer any more than she had to if he could save her from the pain. "If not, I’m going to kill her."

"What?" Daniel exclaimed, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"Daniel," Jack interrupted, knowing what Chris was saying even if his younger companion did not. "I understand." He said meeting Chris’s eyes. "If it comes to that, we won’t stop you."

"I appreciate you don’t." Chris replied looking at Daniel when he said this. "Because I ain’t letting her go through the hell of being trapped with some monster in her own body. I’ll kill anyone who gets in my way of letting that happen."

* * *

Ezra Standish hated to admit this but he was afraid.

He stared through the bars of his prison into the night sky outside his window and knew everything he saw there was wrong. For starters, there seemed to be twin moons in the sky and while they did not hang like orbs of light against a blue canvas of twinkling stars, Ezra knew they were not that different from the lunar object he knew. He regained consciousness to find himself in this dark dungeon; the memory of pain still fresh in his mind as he tried to remember what had happened prior to the blackness that brought him to this place.

His heart sank remembering Alex or whatever had taken Alex, had lured Vin to his death. After that, things had become rather vague. He knew he had stopped Chris from doing something foolish because the gunslinger had been ready to rush out and face Alex which Ezra knew would have gotten him killed as surely as Vin lay dead on the ground at her feet. Following that had been the experience of the most intense pain Ezra Standish ever endured. When Nicholas Serfonteine had tortured him, Ezra had believed he could endure not much worse than the whip that almost tore the flesh from his back. However, it had paled in comparison with the agony that racked him into oblivion only a short time ago.

He did not know where this was but he had the strange idea he was not in Four Corners any more or any place even resembling that. There were two moons outside and the stars in the amber speckled sky did not look right. Constellations were not where they were and that only added the rising apprehension clenching his heart with fear. Logically, the answer was right in front of him. Ezra was the result of a good education and that education included a healthy knowledge in the sciences. He knew there was only reason for what he was seeing outside his window, however impossible it might be. Unfortunately, today had taught him nothing was in the realm of impossible.

His prison was really a dungeon. The walls were made of thick, grey brick and there were bars on every small window. He was the only resident of the jail and there were guards posted out his door. He had taken a moment to inspect them and found to his surprise they were women. They were not dressed too indifferently from Mary but they wore headgear that was shaped like a lion and covered half of their faces. He had tried speaking to them but they were totally unresponsive to conversation. Finally Ezra gave up all together and returned to this insufferable waiting game, wondering after awhile if he was going to be left to languish here forever or if any of the others were confined in this way as well.

Ezra had started to doze off when suddenly, he heard the door of his jail open loudly. Ezra immediately woke, hearing footsteps entering the room. He remained seated on the cold hard floor and wished he had the benefit of his weapons but his derringer, like all his guns had been taken before he had regained consciousness. Until now, he had been suffering his confinement in darkness but as his visitor entered, she brought with her some kind of lamp, yet Ezra could see no flame flickering inside its casing. However, it was no stranger than anything else he had so far witnessed.

"You have rested?" She who was once Mary Travis Larabee asked him.

Ezra did not know how to answer. She was wearing a soft white gown that felt like gossamer against her skin and her hair was splayed across her shoulders in a cascade of gold. Mary had always seemed pristine to him. She was the kind of woman one admired but not lusted after. Chris Larabee’s feelings were another matter entirely but Ezra always felt drawn to Mary but not attracted to her. He cared for her as they all did but as he stared at her now, she made his mouth go dry. She did not simply look attractive, she exuded sex as if it were something that could be tasted and felt on one’s fingers tips.

"Yes," Ezra spoke softly, looking away because she looked scandalous in what she was wearing and his body was responding physically to it. "I have rested well enough. I suppose it is too much trouble to inquire if I would be allowed to leave."

"Where would you go human?" She asked him. "Surely you do not believe that you are on your home world any longer?"

Ezra felt his stomach heave as what he suspected all this time was flung into his face like cold water. He wanted to throw up in protest but he could not. His fear was starting to choke him. However, he held his fear behind a mask of indifference because it was never wise to show one’s hand until the time was right. At the moment, he needed all the advantage he could get.

"Where am I?" He asked, not expecting an answer.

"You are on the world we call Netjer." She responded sliding to her knees. The dress she wore loose and afforded him an ample view of her bosom as she knelt in front of him. Ezra looked away because for all intensive purposes, she was still Chris Larabee’s wife and there was something in her eyes that gave him reason to be cautious. "I brought you here for Isis."

"Isis?" Ezra looked at her blankly.

"She who killed your friend." Mary replied with no sense of remorse whatsoever. In fact, she was smiling as she said it. That had the power to frighten Ezra almost as much as everything else that was happening to him at this moment. Ezra tried not to let his grief over Vin’s death show as he accepted he news silently, waiting to see why she was here and more specifically, why he had been brought to this place.

"What do you want from me Madam?" 

"Isis requires you as her consort." She replied, having no reason to hide anything from him. There would be nothing he could do to stop it any way.

"Consort?" Ezra began to stammer because he thought he had heard incorrectly.

"Yes," she smiled, finding his discomfort at such a suggestion amusing. "Do you find that so amazing?" She ran a finger against his cheek and chuckled when he recoiled sharply from her touch as if scalded.

"She _had_ a consort," Ezra replied bitterly, uncomfortable about the way Mary was eyeing him and touching him. Not with that predatory gleam that had given Chris so much reason to worry, but instead, she looked upon him with desire and that was even worse. "If she had not killed him, he would have happily obliged her."

"He was mate to the host," Mary said icily, grabbing his chin in her hands as she neared closer and slammed his head against the wall. Ezra winced in pain but he had suffered far worse in his time. Instinctively, he moved to react when he noticed that her guards were standing by the door, watching him closely and armed with the strange weapons she had used to defeat them and offering the unspoken threat of what would happen if he made a move against her. "You are to be consort to Goddess of All." She continued to speak, making his face her as she talked. "It is not a request."

"I am no one’s breeding animal." Ezra hissed back defiantly

"You will be ours, hers and mine." She returned just as sharply, pressing his skull against the stone wall behind him. Her fingers dug into his cheeks until Ezra could feel her nails draw blood. "You will do everything that is required of you and you will do it happily and then I may let you die quickly when it is over. Do not underestimate how much pain I am willing to make you endure."

Ezra swallowed, hating this. "Who are you?" He ventured to ask, unable to stand thinking of her as Mary any more. "You are certainly not the woman I know."

"The one you know is gone." She replied with a faint smile. "I feel her inside me you know. She is weak and frightened. I hear her whimpering each time I do anything that shows her weakness. You kind keep your women tamed and hidden away behind ridiculous clothes, you beat them into submission with your own petty insecurities when you ought to be grateful that we do not kill you for the waste of flesh that you all are."

"This is hardly the way to win me over." Ezra found himself saying. "I am afraid that there are some things about the male physique that do not respond well under threat. If I am to be consort to your Isis, Lady….?"

"Sekhmet." She introduced herself, slipping her dress over her bare shoulders and Ezra found himself staring at a sight only Chris Larabee should be viewing. Despite himself, he could not deny how magnificent she looked, how much he wanted to touch her or the arousal he was feeling as she knelt before him bare. Ezra found his gaze trapped in position over the alabaster cream of her neck and the soft, round shape of her breasts, begging his touch. Involuntarily, he felt his body react and she noticed it with almost triumphant pleasure. "Now that was not so difficult was it?" She purred and leaned towards him.

Ezra felt her mouth against his, warm and soft. Her lips were like silk and her taste was all her own. Each woman seemed to have their own flavour and Mary like Julia, was just as intoxicating. He kept his hands on the ground, pressing his palms against the stone because he did not trust himself to do anything else with them. This was Chris’s wife and he had no business being in this position. Her tongue snaked into his mouth an explored him as he felt his manhood stiffening with need. While he refused to touch her, she was held back by no such restraints. He felt her hand glide across his thigh, snaking up his hips with feather like touches before moving across his aching groin.

"Please," he somehow managed to whisper. "I can’t do this."

Her fingers moulded over his erection, caressing it gently and inciting a surge of heat that made him groan into her mouth. He could feel her chest pressing into his body, feel her erect nipples brushing against the fabric of his shirt. He was so close to giving in to her but he was adamant he would not. Ezra kept telling himself that this was wrong, he would not make love to Chris Larabee’s wife, not for all the threats in the world.

Sekhmet noticed the male’s resistance and it excited her even more he was struggling to restrain himself even though it was very obvious he wanted her by the hard flesh she was caressing. Her other hand slipped into the folds of her discarded clothes, seeking the device she brought with her into the dungeon and once her hand grasped it, she moved it towards his knee. She had taken charge of his mouth, kissing him with such passion that even if his moral sensibilities did not wish to react, his body was making the decision for him. He was groaning softly, each time her palm pressed harder into his member until he was whimpering for her to stop.

She held the derringer against his knee and fired.

Ezra screamed into her mouth as he felt the bullet tear through his knee cap, shattering bone and sending hot icicles of pain coursing through his body . She continued to kiss him even though he was caught in a red haze of pain and struggling to push her off him. After a moment, she relented and stepped away, watching him reach for his knee, bleeding profusely as he groaned in agony, almost collapsing against the floor from the pain. She stared at him for a few seconds, relishing every drop of blood and every cry he was trying hard to stifle.

With a smile, Sekhmet looked at Ezra and replied. "You taste so much better when you’re in pain."

* * *

Taking Jack’s advice, Chris decided against telling Vin how he was brought back to life. It was agreed the tracker be told that he had been badly injured and the sarcophagus had healed those wounds with its miraculous abilities. When Chris had openly produced that story for Vin, none of the seven seemed to disagree because it seemed a lot simpler than explaining to the man he had been resurrected from death. Vin had enough worries on his mind at the moment without having that knowledge to burden him as well.

"I shouldn’t have lost my head like that." Vin apologised as he and Chris faced each other, taking a moment alone as the other prepared themselves for the journey they were about to take. Most of them had spare ammunition in their saddle bags and while they went outside to retrieve them and any other supplies they might need, Chris decided to let Vin in on what they were intending to do. The tracker seemed to take the news of their new acquaintances with the same laconic manner he took everything. "It’s a good thing I didn’t get myself killed." He said with a half smile and had no idea why Chris paled at the thought.

"Well, don’t do it again." Chris said in a low voice, hiding what had had happened from his eyes. Seeing Vin die had been one of the worst moments in his life. Until the young man fell to the ground, his neck broken and his eyes appearing as if they would see nothing again, Chris had not believed it possible to feel such pain over the death of a friend. It was given he should expect to feel this way when it came to a wife or child but rarely had he felt so closely to another person than he did to Vin Tanner. In some ways, his friendship with Vin was even deeper than with Buck, even though he had known Buck for so much longer. "I got enough trouble worrying about what we’re about to do without watching your back."

"I thought I could reach her," Vin confessed, remembering those awful few moments when he had found himself pleading with Alex to remember him. "I really thought she was in there somewhere."

"Well according to Jack and the others, she is." Chris replied, trying to let Vin know that he could not be blamed for acting the way he did. Until that moment, he had not realised how lost Mary was to him and to herself. "It’s the Goa’uld inside her that made her hurt you."

"I know," Vin said shaking his head unable to believe the extraordinary circumstances they had stumbled into. "Its just so hard to understand how something could just steal someone’s body like it was something out of a store." With a slight smile, Vin added. "It always seems to happen to us doesn’t it? The weird stuff."

"Oh yeah," Chris grinned. "I keep hoping for some perfectly ordinary bad ass outlaw to give us trouble instead of what we seem to run into."

"We’ve had our share of those too." Vin pointed out.

"We’ve had our share of everything." Chris said softly. He did not say it even though that was what he truly meant. Despite his optimistic appraisal of the situation, Chris did not feel confident they could retrieve Mary and Alex. They might get lucky with Ezra, that is if the duo had not made the gambler into one of their slaves but in truth, the best Chris could hope for was to end Mary’s suffering. He hoped when the time came, Vin was strong enough to do the same for Alex because Chris knew the doctor well enough to know it would be a living hell for her to be trapped inside the body of a ruthless killer.

"We should get going soon." Jack approached the two men. "They’re got a head start on us, we don’t want them to gain any more ground."

"What are our chances of catching up to them?" Vin asked as they started towards the gate.

"Hard to say," Jack answered honestly. "We don’t know much about Isis. Its not a Goa’uld we’ve run into before. From what Teal’c tells me, she’s bad news. Doesn’t like men too much."

"I got that impression." Chris remarked. "The one that got Mary went through us like we weren’t even there."

"Sekhmet." Daniel offered politely. "She was worshipped as warrior goddess. Judging by what is known of her, she doesn't think much of men in favour except for breeding purposes. Its probably why they took your friend."

Chris stiffened at the idea. "You mean they took Ezra to…"

"Yeah," Jack said not allowing that sentence to run its course. "They need men to breed more of them, so they can create an army of Jaffa." He had already explained to them what Jaffa were so he need not clarify that statement any more than he had to. Besides, the whole subject was awkward enough as it is and Jack told himself to have a private chat to Daniel about what he would disclose to these men in future.

"And they picked Ezra." Chris replied, wondering how he could even find this remotely funny when it should have been enraging. "Buck would have gone with them willingly." Still, in coming to think of Mary and Sekhmet as two separate entities, it made her loss so much easier to bear. He hoped it would remain that way when he saw Mary face to face.

"I doubt he’d find it much fun." Sam added, Jolinahr’s memories of Sekhmet had given her insight into the Goa’uld’s behaviour which would seem to indicate their missing friend would not be enjoying the experience. "She’s a monster. She likes causing pain especially to men. We’d better find him before they’re done."

"Jesus." Vin whispered softly.

The rest of the seven returned the cavern at that point and Jack decide that it was time to go. This entire mission had become a roller coaster ride and this was just the latest swell in the trip. He had not anticipated facing a Goa’uld System Lord and her bloodthirsty companion, let alone one who had stolen bodies from Earth’s past. However, he was glad they had help in facing the threat awaiting thenon the other side of the gate. He did not know much about Chris Larabee or his men but he could see that their bond of fellowship was binding and such loyalty was something Jack O’Neill valued highly.

He felt the same way about SG1.

"Okay," he looked at the men around him. "Important safety tip. When you go through, it will be cold on the other side. Don’t ask me why, I don’t understand and it will take Sam too long to explain it. Just take a breath and step through. Its just like walking through a door."

"Get on with it." Chris growled.

Jack gave him a look. "You’re not a people person are you?" 

Chris opened his mouth to respond when Vin spoke for him. "We’re just real anxious to get going."

Jack shrugged and decided the joke segment of the preflight instructions could wait until later and turned to Daniel who was standing by the dialling device with Nathan Jackson. "All right, Daniel, let’s do it."

As everyone stepped out of the way and Daniel began dialling in the address Nathan had seen, they watched in silent awe as the huge circle of stone came to life once more, making the ground tremble as the ring of symbols moved into place. The cavern was soon aglow with ethereal light, reminiscent of those underground pools where the reflection of water would bounce off the walls of the cave it ran through with luminescent colours. When the final glyph locked into place, the same surge of power exploded through the hollow of the ring, before the recoil turned the disarray into a shimmery wall of colour. It was beautiful and also frightening.

Jack went through first, showing the others that there was nothing to fear, followed by Teal’c. Daniel and Sam stayed behind to usher the rest of the group through the gate, empathising with their apprehension at stepping through such an unknown. Chris felt no such fears. He looked at it and marvelled secretly at the light that danced off the glistening surface and told himself that Mary was behind there and all he had to do to find her was to step through.

He was willing to walk through it if it took him to hell itself to find Mary.


	5. Playground of the Gods

 

Cold.

It seeped into his skin, through his clothes until he could feel it pressed up against his bones. He shivered involuntarily, annoyed that he should be affected so prolifically when the cold was nothing that he was unaccustomed to. How many nights had he spent out on the prairie under the stars in the middle of winter? How many blizzards and snowstorms had he been caught in throughout his life? This should not have effected him the way it had, Chris Larabee told himself after he tumbled to the ground, feeling frost on his duster and the tiny fragments of ice against his skin. Still, after what he had just witnessed, he knew nothing about his situation was ordinary. His mind was still reeling from the effects of what he had seen after stepping through the gate.

It was so beautiful.

It felt like he was spirited away through the night sky, streaking through the stars at great speed until all there was before him were an amalgamation of light and colour. Chris had no idea what kind of science could explain this magic, and to him it truly felt like magic, but he knew he was journeying somewhere beyond the boundaries of human imagination. Until he actually saw the gate, there was still a part of him that believed nothing he was told about Mary’s condition or the Goa’uld who had supposedly eaten up her soul and was using her body like a new suit of clothes, was real. However, when he realised his physical self had been carried across the stars, he realised there was no denying any of it. 

"Where the hell are we?" He heard Buck ask and looked up to see the big man rubbing his arms, trying to create enough friction to generate the warmth to dispel the iciness they were all feeling. Even Buck’s moustache was iced over with bluish white frost collecting on the strands.

"Hey look at the sky!" JD’s voice exploded in his head with a tinge of fear and excitement rolled up into a mix that was pure JD. As usual, the young man found it difficult to remain still even now. He was stepping off the stone floor they had been thrown unto, upon arriving in this new place, and making his way down the steps leading to the ground.

"I told you Dorothy," Jack O’Neill responded. "This isn’t Kansas." The man from the future had little trouble adjusting to a trip Chris was certain he had taken a hundred times before. Like all military men worth their salt, he recovered quickly and was dusting the ice from himself as he took stock of their surroundings.

"Whose Dorothy?" Vin grumbled as if he was still recovering but Chris watched his eyes and knew the tracker was already studying where they had been deposited. Aside from the gate and the stone floor upon which it was nestled, there were no other signs of civilisation. The gate remained inside the clearing of what appeared to be an extremely dense forest, with tall tapering trees that blocked out the sky with their canopy of leaves. There was little undergrowth because Chris suspected no sunlight could penetrate to allow it.

"Is everyone all right?" The woman named Sam asked everyone with concern. She was moving through the group, assessing everyone’s condition as women found it their God given right to do, no matter how much they think they might have been past all those things, in whatever future. Chris supposed that there was some things that not even time could change.

"Yeah," Nathan answered, letting his own gaze assess the condition of his friends. While they appeared to be slightly disorientated from the trip, he saw signs they were quickly recovering from their experience. Some like JD was more than recovered and was rearing to go. "Hey JD, don’t stray too far."

"I’m not a kid Nathan," JD returned quickly. "I can look out for myself." 

"You get your ass back here before I go over there and get you." Chris snapped.

JD frowned but he was not about to argue with Chris when the gunslinger appeared to be in such a filthy mood. Reluctantly, he climbed up the steps again to join them.

"Definitely not a people person." Jack commented as he walked past Chris.

"So I take it we’re not where we were." Josiah replied as the preacher looked into the night and saw a completely alien sky from the one he had known all his life. While it felt strange looking into a different sky, Josiah wondered if the beauty of it was universal because this canvas was just as breathtaking as the one at home.

"I don’t know if it means anything to you," Daniel remarked with a faint smile. "But you are as of this moment, one of the first modern men to visit another planet."

"Except that no one can know about it." Jack replied. "Sorry."

"Well we ain’t here to be famous." Vin retorted, just as curious as JD to start exploring this place. While Alex preoccupied his thoughts, he could not help feeling a little excited by the notion he was on another world. Of course, there was much about his own that still awaited discovery but for the moment, they were somewhere no one had really been in possibly thousands of years. "Let’s get going."

"Just hold your horses." Jack said loudly. "We have no idea where we are or what’s waiting for us out there."

Vin was not listening and he was already making his way down the steps to the ground. The tracker knew if he could just get to the land, he could find out what they needed to know. The air did not feel damp so Vin was assured there had been no rain in the past few hours. Reaching the ground, he dropped to his knees and studied the soil. It was difficult to see in the darkness but the twin moons offered enough illumination for him to make out what he needed to make his determination of their current situation. The soil was dry as Vin suspected and it did not take long for him to find the tracks in the dirt he was seeking.

"Three people were here." He announced to the others.

"Are you sure?" Jack immediately asked as Chris strode towards Vin, with the Colonel not far behind.

"Yeah," Vin nodded, studying the tracks in the dirt carefully. "Two sets of tracks and one that’s a little strange."

"They were carrying Ezra," Nathan reminded. "That’s probably why."

Teal’c joined Jack and Chris as they went to Vin’s side. The young man was still studying the marks on the ground, even though they made little sense to anyone else. Vin’s concentration was singular and Chris knew as long as there was grass and soil for him to examine, Vin would be able to read the tracks here just as well as he could at home.

"Vin Tanner is correct O’Neill." The former Jaffa remarked as he cast his sombre gaze on the same soil Vin was studying so closely. "I believe they travelled in a north-westerly direction."

"That looks about right." Vin agreed. "Tracks don't look old so it was a couple of hours ago."

Knowing that Chris was in no frame of mind to wait, Jack decided that it was best that they get moving immediately. While the others were curious to see what was out here, Chris Larabee was eager to reach his wife and would not tolerate any delays. While Jack could sympathise with the man’s feelings, his determination to reach the woman was bordering on dangerous and the leader of SG1 was keeping a close watch on the man, who also did not take orders well since he was used to giving them.

"I think we ought to stay put but I’m guessing that’s not what you want to do?" Jack met his eyes.

Chris _wanted_ to proceed immediately however, he forced himself to think reasonably. The forest beyond this clearing wasthick and unknown to them and as skilled as Vin was in tracking in the dark, the truth was it was never wise to do so in such unfamiliar terrain. Besides, this was not just a different place, it was a different world and the few hours it would take to reach dawn would not make that much difference to Mary’s state. It would be wiser if they found a place to camp, preferably in the cover of the trees and begin their search in the morning. His friends had followed him to another world to help him recover Mary, he was not about to endanger their lives by reckless impatience.

"No, you’re right." Chris surprised himself by agreeing with Jack. "We should find a place to camp and start looking at first light."

"Good idea," Jack agreed and threw Chris a grateful smile for not insisting on going. "We’ll make for those trees for cover. Carter, Teal’c, I want a defensive perimeter. Set up a row of claymores. I want to know if anything comes our way tonight."

"Yes Sir," Sam answered and went to Teal’c who had the ordinance. As the others proceeded onwards, Sam examined the artillery Teal’c had in a heavy backpack. She was counting how many claymores they had at their disposal when she saw Buck Wilmington had broken away from the main group and was walking towards her instead of the other direction.

"Up for some help, little lady?" 

"Sure," Sam returned his smile, wondering what it was about the man that did not make her want to slap his face for calling her little lady as she would most other men of her time. "We’re going to be setting up some mines along a defensive perimeter, maybe set up some trip wire."

Teal’c had walked up ahead, no doubt spotting an idea location as well as giving her an opportunity to converse with Buck alone. Sam had the feeling small talk made Teal’c uncomfortable as well as interaction from these men of the past who had no idea what he was. She could not blame him. The concept of extra terrestrial life would not become prevalent until the 1900’s. As it was, she was rather surprised they had accepted what they were told about the Goa’uld. There was no reason for them to know Teal’c’s history as well. Too much information could be just as dangerous as too little.

"I ain’t never met no woman in the army." Buck replied as they walked in the darkness.

"You probably won’t for another hundred years." Sam replied, sensing no chauvinism in his remark, merely curiosity. "It’s just starting to feel normal in my time."

"Well you look like you’re doing good. I heard him call you a Major?"

"Yeah, I got promoted a few months ago." She said unable to help but feel some measure of pride in that.

"Are you going to be career army?" He looked at her, deciding if there were men who had chosen this course, he could not see why it would be different for her in the future.

"I don’t know," Sam replied, having never really thought about it. "I guess I would like to be married someday, have a few kids. I just never thought about it. What about you? Any children?"

"I got a baby on the way." Buck said with just as much pride as Sam had announced her rank. "Mother’s a little stubborn, she ain’t willing to marry me yet, but I’m working on her."

Sam chuckled. "What did you do?"

"I didn’t do anything," Buck protested with complete innocence. "Except have a little trouble keeping my eye on one woman but I’ve been staying on the straight and narrow these past five months."

"Well that’s a start," she laughed, understanding perfectly why the mother of his child would have difficulty selecting him as a husband. Despite the fact he was a little rough around the edges by her standards, she had no doubt Buck Wilmington was quite the ladies man. What made him even more attractive, was the fact he genuinely liked women. He did not set out to fill some unknown quota that most womanisers tended to do.

"I hope so," Buck offered her a devious grin. "Cause its killing me. I ain’t felt this deprived since I was a kid."

"Chocolate helps." Sam offered. "Lots and lots of chocolate ice cream. Saved my life more than my gun."

With that, she laughed and Buck joined her, hating the fact he liked her more than he should and knowing perfectly well anything between them was impossible.

* * *

Where was Buck Wilmington when you needed him?

Buck would love playing consort. Why did they have to take him for such a purpose? He did not want to be here, lying in soft sheets, feeling silken material under him while his leg throbbed in pain that had yet to subside in its intensity even though he had become a little more accustomed to it. Mary or Sekhmet, as she now called herself and in all honestly, Ezra preferred to think of her as that rather than the woman he knew as Mary Travis Larabee, had left him shortly after inflicitng his injury. It chilled him to the bone how she had taken delight in his pain and he started to feel the stirring’s of genuine fear whenever he thought that she might _come_ back.

It was bad enough he felt so guilty at having responded to her seduction but to know he was meant to be some kind of stud animal for both Mary and Alex, was enough to make his skin crawl. He had no idea how he was going to resist them when the time came for both women to take their liberties with him, considering how he had reacted to Mary, despite all his resistance. He had not believed how incredibly arousing she could be when she set her mind to it and natural curiosity made him even more responsive.

Now he was here, carried in by guards who had unceremoniously dropped him in this bed and ensured that his arms were secured to the bedposts while his legs remained free, not that he could do much with them anyway. He managed to tie a piece of his shirt sleeve around his shattered knee to stem the bleeding but even Ezra knew that it was not going to be enough. He had lost a great deal of blood and even now felt weak from its effects, not to mention the pain he was still feeling. Worst yet, he could smell the pleasant scent of incense burning and the soft lights of the room and his opulent surroundings made him anxious as to what was going to come through that door. It preyed heavily in his mind what Mary…no, it was not Mary who had done this to him, it was Sekhmet, Ezra reminded himself. Sekhmet said that they needed him for a consort. Her actions had made him understand unmistakably what that would require.

He heard the sound of a door opening and immediately raised his head on the bed to see who entered, praying secretly it was not Sekhmet. He felt weak and exhausted from his injury and did not know how much he could resist it she decided to play more of her sadistic games. However, it was not Sekhmet who entered the room and close the doors behind her. It was the creature called Isis, whom he now knew was occupying Alex’s body. Isis walked slowly towards him, wearing a dress not that different from the one Sekhmet ]wore earlier, except her dusky coloured skin stood out more prolifically through the sheer fabric. She sauntered towards the bed and paused at its edge as she examined him without saying a word.

"I take it, it is your turn to cause me pain, Madam?" 

Her eyes shifted to his leg and a hint of annoyance crossed her face when she saw the damage inflicted there.

"Sekhmet’s predilections are not our own. We did not require you harmed."

"How nice for you." He replied, not wishing to look at her as he lay his head back on the pillow and tried pulling free of the ropes that kept him tied to the bedposts. Unfortunately, her guards had done an efficient job of keeping him pinned and there was no foreseeable way of breaking free of them.

She did not respond to his remark but instead climbed unto the bed with him. Sitting on the edge, she moved her hand over his damaged knee, the ribbon device still coiled around her wrist. For a moment, Ezra thought she was going to inflict further harm upon him when suddenly, the gem in the centre of her palm came alive and she moved it over the wound. Ezra braced himself for pain but the exact opposite happened.

He watched as the amber glow illuminated the torn flesh and broken bone and slowly but surely the pain began to recede. He could feel it oozing from his body like sharp rivulets that was being siphoned from his body. His eyes were mesmerised as he watched her work, marvelling at the disappearance of the discomfort he had felt and furthermore, the rapid healing of flesh under her ministrations. He watched skin being repaired, felt bones knit until finally when it was all said and done, his knee appeared just as it did before the derringer shattered it.

"Is that better?" she asked when she finally removed her hand from him.

"Yes," he swallowed, amazed by what he had seen. "Thank you."

"In out time we have been worshipped as many things," she answered. Her voice was still unearthly, not at all like Alex’s but it was devoid of the cold, cruelty of Sekhmet. "Goddess to All, Queen of the Underworld, Wife to Ra. we are also the patron goddess to the healing arts by those you called the children of the Nile once labelled us."

"Egyptians." He declared in understanding.

"We survive in this way because we must." She explained. "Our world was dying and the bodies that nature had been so fit to give us were inadequate to the task of maintaining our existence. In our natural form we possess great intelligence and power but we are unable to exert any use of it because we lack the necessity of bipedal locomotion. When Ra found your world, he gave us all immortality and a new lease on life. However for us to be able to function in your bodies we must adapt our young to its new host prior to the birthing."

Ezra began to understand. "Is that why you require me?"

"Men decide the form." She said without expression. "Those are the rules. Without your genetic matter, we cannot suit my children to their host bodies but we find the whole idea of coupling this way distasteful."

"Then what is to be done," Ezra asked anxiously, hoping against hope, she didn't intend forcing him. As much as he was aroused by Alex's body in this guise, Vin was his friend and he would not betray that for anything. 

"We have our ways," she replied, raising her hand to his forehead. Before he had a chance to question what he was doing, a blast of energy escaped the jewel and  struck him in the centre of his skull. The human slumped to his side unconscious and Isis rose to her feet, leaving him sprawled across the bed. 

"Jaffar!" She called out loud as she watched him lying there. A few seconds later, a Jaffar warrior entered the room, her head bowed in the presence of her queen. Isis barely regarded the woman's presence before speaking. "You may begin the extraction." 

 

* * *

The daylight offered no great revelation to the new arrivals of the planet Netjer.

It was in the morning as it was the night before, a land of thick equatorial forests, with much of the concentration of greenery in its dense canopy of leaves high above the ground. Even as they moved through the woods, very little sunlight penetrated the canopy above and thus vegetation at ground level was at a minimum except for lichens and vines that would survive even in the most brutal terrain. The night passed without incident for the off worlders, although no one could really sleep with any amount of comfort.

Chris spent most of the night watching the sky, trying to imagine how far from home he was and whether or not Mary was watching the same stars. He came to the unhappy conclusion that she probably was, but could no more appreciate it than she could control her body with Sekhmet in possession of it. During the night, he had spoken to Daniel Jackson about the goddess and who she was in the mythological sense. What he learnt only reaffirmed if she would not relinquish her hold of Mary’s body, he would give Mary a merciful ending.

Daniel also told Chris about his wife Sharee whom he had been searching for these past three years since she was taken from him.

As Daniel spoke about her, it was apparent to Chris the younger man had not given up hope of recovering his wife even if that hope was becoming more and more distant as time passed. Chris could not imagine that kind of torture and pray that he would not have to endure such tragedy. The more he spoke to Daniel, the more Chris understood why he had been so willing to reveal the truth to them during their initial meeting at the excavation. Chris hoped with all his heart Daniel would find his wife because no man deserved to suffer the pain of not knowing. The gunslinger also resolved himself to put an end to things here on this world because he had no intention of pursuing Mary from world to world, hoping that he would get lucky and find her. If Mary was lost then Chris had to think about Billy. He would have to make a life for the boy who was Mary’s gift to him.

Vin and Teal’c had started out before most of the camp had risen, deciding a little reconnaissance was necessary. Although the tracker had intended to go alone as it was his custom and unofficial capacity as scout among the seven, Teal’c insisted on joining him. The former Jaffa knew Jack would not take kindly to the younger man going off on his own and decided a compromise of sorts would pacify both Jack and the tracker if he were to accompany him. As humans went, Teal’c found Vin Tanner to be quiet company since every Tau’Ri he ever met seemed uncomfortable with silence. However, the tracker did not speak a great deal except when it was necessary and his skills were impressive, even to a Jaffa.

"You’re ain't like the others are you?" Vin asked as they moved through the forest, following what resembled a trail not used often. It was overgrown and thick but here was enough evidence to suggest someone had used it recently for both men to follow it to its conclusion.

"No I am not." Teal’c replied, seeing no reason to lie when it was very obvious he was different.

"What were you?" Vin looked at him. "You look like us but you ain’t."

Teal’c paused debating whether or not he should tell the truth. After a moment, he decided against lying particularly because he was not very good at it. "I am Jaffa."

Vin had listened to Daniel Jackson enough to know what that was. He paused and looked at the former Jaffa closely. "How come you ain’t with them Goa’uld things that took Alex?" There was surprisingly enough, no accusation in his voice.

"I do not believe they are gods and have enslaved my people by forcing us to carry the infant Goa’uld. When I learnt of O’Neill and the others, I realised that I could free my people by helping them."

Vin nodded in understanding and looked at Teal’c. "I got a price on my head you know?"

"Really?" Teal’c met his blue eyes with a raised brow. "For what reason."

"Murder." Vin said simply. "I supposedly killed a man."

"You do not appear to me to be a murderer." 

"That’s good cause you don’t look to me like someone who’ll turn me into the Goa’uld, so I guess we’re nothing like what people think we are." Vin flashed him a faint smile and was unurprised when Teal’c returned it with one of his own.

The trail they were taking had not been used for quite some time and Teal’c explained most cultures under Goa’uld influence tended to stay away from the Stargate, feeling it to be sacrilegious to interfere with in any way. It would appeared such was the case here because other than the more recent tracks, most likely made by Isis and Sekhmet after they arrived on this world, the trail showed very little signs of disturbance although there was a definitive path to follow. With the sun coming up, the temperature also rose steadily and the climate of the immediate area was heavy with humidity. Judging by the loamy texture of the soil, the area saw a large amount of rainfall. They were fortunate a trail still remained with the high level of growth of the natural vegetation.

They travelled a little more than a mile when they heard the distinct sounds of habitation beyond the trees. As they approached the boundary emptying into a large clearing, the sounds became clearer to the point where they were able to identify them. Neither Vin nor Teal’c made any comment when they heard the sounds were in actual fact voices and those same voices were filled with fear. Despite the overwhelming urge to render aid, their primary mission at the moment was to remain under cover and determine what awaited them beyond the safety of the forest. Edging towards the edge of the trees, they peered through the branches and leaves and observed what lay ahead.

The voices crying out in fear were coming from a small settlement in the centre of the cleared land. The homes were constructed of mud and looked like the constructs Vin had seen south of the border, certainly they were no more sophisticated then that. What was causing so much distress amongst its population was the presence of Jaffa Lion guards presently moving through the village. There was at least a dozen of them, carrying staff weapons and clad in full battle armour, not unlike those Teal’c had won as a Jaffa of the Serpent Guard. However the helmets worn by these guards were styled after the lion as opposed to a snake.

There was also one other significant difference.

"They’re all women." Vin pointed out since it caused the most surprise to him.

"Isis favours women above men. It is logical that her personal guard would be that way." Teal’c explained and saw Vin immediately shrug uncomfortably and felt the need to add further. "Do not underestimate them Vin Tanner, they have been trained in the art of combat like all Jaffa warriors. They are prepared to die defending their Goa’uld master."

"I ain't happy about shooting women." Vin confessed and not liking the idea he would have to if he wished to get Alex back. He watched them as they moved through the village like a scourge, entering houses and forcibly removing young women from their homes. Vin also noticed a decided lack of males in general and that added to his bewilderment. "What are they doing?"

"I believe," Teal’c ventured a guess, "they are selecting future Jaffa."

"But they’re ain’t older than JD." Vin exclaimed, noticing how young some of these would be warriors were as they were taken away. "Where are all the men?"

"I do not believe there are many." The former Jaffa replied. "If their only function in this society is for breeding purposes, then only perfect specimens would be kept alive and I doubt they would be kept here. I would assume they would be housed in the Goa’uld stronghold."

The idea that men should be kept like cattle made Vin cringe and he wondered how anyone could live like this. As it was, he had difficulty dealing with the whole concept of a society dominated by women. He watched the Jaffa rounding up their new recruits and noticed not all were adverse to accompanying the guards.

"Does this happen all the time?" He asked, wondering if Teal’c had been taken the same way.

"No," Teal’c shook his head. "For many of us it is an honour to serve the gods and for others, it is enslavement. We are given little choice to debate the matter and when the _Primtakh_ is over, it is too late."

"The what?" Vin looked at him.

"The _Primtakh_ , the ritual when the Goa’uld symbiote is placed in our bodies. I was implanted when I was twelve years old."

"Twelve years old!" The tracker exclaimed in shock. "You were just a kid! How come they’re being taken so late?" He referred to the young women being herded away.

"I am uncertain." Teal’c answered and considered for a moment. "Possibly because a Goa’uld has not been here for awhile and there have not been any symbiotes available for implantation. It is likely with the arrival of Isis and Sekhmet, that situation has changed. Isis is considered Goddess of All which may mean she is a Queen Goa’uld. She would have the ability to reproduce offspring. I understand that is why your friend was taken."

Vin said nothing, trying not to even think about _that_ part of this unbelievable situation. To think something possessing Alex’s body was going to use Ezra’s to reproduce incensed Vin beyond belief and fired a spark of jealousy he knew he should not be feeling. It was neither Alex’s fault nor Ezra’s for that matter, this happened to them and Vin was not about to blame either for anything. If he got Alex back, he was going to be grateful enough for that miracle without holding her accountable for anything the creature inside her had used her body to do.

"We should be getting back to the others." Vin said finally, having seen enough for the moment and started to withdraw into the forest, ignoring the continuing sounds of terror as young women were carried off to uncertain futures.

* * *

"We don’t have a lot of time." Jack announced to everyone as they started moving towards the village Vin and Teal’c had found. "If they’re recruiting new Jaffa, its not going to be long before they get their numbers up to strength. Our best bet of getting your wife and your girl friend back is to find them before that happens."

"I’m glad Ezra decided to hold out." Vin grumbled despite his efforts to remain sensible about this. He knew it was not Ezra or Alex’s fault but knowing Ezra may have to be intimate with her to create new offspring stuck in his craw. Vin kept reminding himself Alex had no choice in the matter and God only knows what they were doing to Ezra if even half the stories about this Sekhmet were true.

"He may not have a choice." Daniel said, rushing immediately to Ezra Standish’s defence, having been in the similar position as the gambler when the SGC had been infiltrated by the Goa’uld queen, Hathor. "The queen Goa’ulds have some kind of pheromone they use to control men. Even if he didn’t want to be the contributor," that was the most delicate terminology Daniel could use after Jack had a chat to him about his clinical description of things, "she would most likely use it on him to get him to obey."

"Like she made Miss Alex go with her in town." Nathan said understanding completely.

"Something like that." Daniel replied, seeing no need to go into it with that much depth.

"Is Sekhmet a Goa’uld queen?" Buck inquired, fascinated by this whole concept of pheromone attractors and wondered fleetingly if this was what his animal magnetism was all about. Was he exuding some kind of scent that made women go crazy around him? He had a dozen questions on why it did not always work and were there specific kinds of females on which this did not apply, like Inez for instance.

"I don’t think so," Sam answered automatically, finding herself responding to most of Buck’s questions, since he was the one in the group she seemed to interact the most with. Despite herself, Sam found the lawman somewhat compelling even though she knew anything between them was impossible as well as insane. She had a feeling that Buck knew it too. "Goa’uld queens are territorial. They do not interact with each other."

"If Isis is able to use these pheromones to make men vulnerable, we’re going to have trouble confronting her." Josiah pointed out. "She’s hard enough to get the jump on as it is."

"Well that’s easy," Jack said with a smile looking at Sam.

The major returned his gaze suspiciously and immediately asked. "What?"

"We send the one person after her who is not going to be affected by her mojo and that’s you Major Carter." Jack announced, quite pleased with himself over that piece of reasoning.

"Wait a minute." Sam returned his gaze. "I can’t take her on my own. You’re talking about a Goa’uld queen, probably the oldest and most powerful Goa’uld queen. She predates everyone except maybe Ra."

"You took care of Seth." He pointed out, believing in earnest she could do it. Jack had seen what Sam had done to that particular Goa’uld and knew that when she had to, Sam could do amazing things with Goa’uld technology. The only thing prevented her from utilising her full potential was her own internal reservations.

"But that was different." She protested, hating that this all rested on her abilities, abilities she had difficulty coping with as it was.

"Sam," Jack said quietly, dropping his voice an octave so she would know he was speaking to her as her friend, not as her commanding officer. "We don’t have any other way of facing her. You know that. If we go after her, chances are you’ll be having to face all of us instead of just her. We can take Sekhmet out and we might even be able to help you with Isis at minimum safe distance, but we’re not going to be able to take her down without you."

"Damn." She swore under her breath. "Alright," she nodded and reached into her backpack, producing a device she had discovered in Isis’s enclave back on Earth. She had not known why she had taken it, crediting it to some unknown insight she might need it. "I took one of these things with me when I was there."

"Jesus!" Buck exclaimed as he saw her fitting the ribbon device around her hand. "What are you doing?" He was horrified she was wearing the same destructive weapon on her hand that Isis had almost killed all of them with.

"It’s the only way to take Isis down." Daniel explained, seeing how uncomfortable Sam was about all this as she tried the device on for size and concentrated on making the sapphire gem come to life. "Sam was taken by a Goa’uld a year ago. Once you’re taken, you have some ability to work their technology."

"You were taken?" Buck looked at her.

She nodded slowly.

"But you came out of it." Chris said quickly, feeling a surge of real hope in his chest this condition was not permanent. If this woman was freed then there was a chance Mary could be saved just like she was.

"Only because the Goa’uld I was carrying was different." Sam replied, hating to disclose too much about Jolinahr but they were all staring at her, needing to understand and yet Sam felt worse about telling it to Buck. "He wasn’t like the others. He belonged to a group called the Tokra and he jumped into me because he hadn’t a choice at the time. However, when my life was threatened by his being there, he freed me at the cost of his own."

"This gets weirder and weirder." JD declared and decided that perhaps that was all the explanation he needed. "Well, as long as you’re okay now."

"Don’t you just love the kid?" Josiah smiled, patting his back in appreciation of JD’s tolerance and simple statement on how they should all be regarding the matter.

"Do you remember much about when he was inside you?" Vin asked as they resumed the walk to the village. He wanted to know because he needed to understand what it was like for Alex, in the dark place she was now confined. Even though he did not look at Chris, he could tell the gunslinger was listening closely to their conversation.

"I remember everything." She said softly. "I was very frightened, even when I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Until we discovered Thor’s Hammer, there was no way to successfully remove a Goa’uld symbiote and I was terrified it would never let me go. I’d seen too many of them at that time to know I didn’t want to live that way."

Chris remained silent but listened carefully. Sam Carter had given him hope it was all possible to find Mary and return her to the person he married only six months ago. He remembered the last sane moment they had shared together and felt a pang of sorrow because he would miss the breakfasts in the morning, where she would rush around the kitchen, juggling her roles as mother, wife and editor of the Clarion News. He would miss seeing her words on paper and he would miss holding her in his arms.

"But you’re okay now?" Buck asked, finally overriding his revulsion at the idea she might have carried one of those creatures inside of her when he realised just how horrified she had been by its presence. He was mortified by his insensitivity and resolved himself he could no more hold that against her than he would with Mary and Alex.

"Yeah," she nodded with a smile, pleased that he no longer viewed her like some freak. "I had some nightmares for awhile but strangely enough I remember some things about him, which is useful for what I have to do."

"It also helps that when she puts that thing on she kicks some serious butt." Jack threw her a playful smile.

"Well I’m getting used to it," she replied, raising a hand at a nearby tree and concentrating as hard as she could.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Suddenly, without warning, the gem started glowing with amber light and a surge of invisible force exploded outward, visible only when the tapered trunk of the tree snapped in half like kindling. Splinters flew in all directions as the tree began it sharp descent as it toppled over. Its weight dragged it through the branches and leaves of other trees, creating a cacophony of sound as birds nesting in its spindly branches took flight until finally it crashed on the ground.

"Wow." JD said with a mixture of astonishment and awe.

"Well I say you’re a little more use to it, ma’am." Nathan grinned, feeling some measure of relief knowing they were not relying completely on their guns when those as a defence had been so inadequate during their first encounter with Isis and Sekhmet.

"Not bad." Chris remarked, starting to feel the odds shift a little bit more in their favour after seeing that display.

"The life of a star," Jack replied, walking up along side of her and throwing Sam an encouraging smile as they moved past the settling dust of her tree felling abilities.

"Oh yeah," Sam frowned, wishing she felt that confident herself. "Show business is my life."

* * *

Isis could feel her children swirling around her body as she sat in the polished stone bath as the birthing process continued. Once she secured the code of life from the Chosen One, Isis had inseminated herself with his seed and fulfilled her duty as mother of all. Once fertilisation was completed, the process between conception and birth was extremely brief and she had only to remain inside the warmth of this place and wait for the life to fill inside her.

Even now, what remained of her lion guards on Netjer were gathering new hosts for the larvae Goa’uld that was being born as she nested here. She could see their infant forms, swimming through the bubbling water, adjusting themselves to the life beyond her womb and waiting in unknowing expectation for the moment they slid into the bodies of their new hosts. She smiled in satisfaction at the creation before her, knowing that they were only the first in the new order she was creating.

She would make her Chosen One her consort and keep him at his side for he was of good stock and would produce strong, perfect children. He would sit at her side while Sekhmet remained at her right hand and they would be a triumvirate that would bring the other System Lords to their knees. Isis would destroy Ra, whom had fled to the stars following the rebellion, coward that he was. Ra who imprisoned Hathor, who had presumed to call himself Lord of them all when he was but only one of many, including Apophis, Seth, Sokra, Zeus and Yew. United, they would be in a position to challenge the Asgard and bring about a true consolidation of Goa’uld power. She felt empowered by this first step and knew this was always her destiny.

Occasionally, she would hear stirring’s of her host’s mind. It amused Isis to hear its grief over the death of the man she killed. It had been necessary to end his life for Isis would not fall prey to the same kind of attachments Sekhmet’s host still felt for the man in black, even though Sekhmet herself, would be loathed to admit it. If not for the bond between her host and the man she called Vin, Isis might have been inclined to select him as her Chosen One. However, the emotional ties would have created conflicts Isis was unprepared to deal with, no matter how beautiful the man mat have been.

In any case, she was satisfied with the selection that was ultimately made without her requiring to perform the odious act. He was a beautiful and healthy specimen and judging from the selection available in this fortress on Netjer, he was still the choicest specimen available to her and her children required the best to adapt.

Even now, she could see them gaining strength as they moved languidly through the churning water, becoming more certain of themselves and their surroundings. Isis, Goddess of All was pleased as she eased into the curve of the bath, feeling her body rest from the exertion of birth in the luxurious warmth of the water. She closed her eyes to take a moment for herself when she heard the doors to her chamber open and knew only one person who would dare interrupt her sojourn in here.

"What do you requires of us that cannot wait, Sekhmet." She asked, not opening her eyes.

"You healed the man and I am told that you have dubbed him your Chosen?" Sekhmet glared at her queen. "You have actually taken this human as your Chosen One? You have not done this in almost two millennia.Why now?"

"We have been imprisoned for almost a thousand years." Isis replied, still enjoying her bath and seeing no need to face her companion yet. "Our forces are weakened throughout all our enclaves as they are here. Our Jaffa exist only because they have been stealing symbiotes from other System Lords. Our forces are depleted and easily absorbed. We have selected our Chosen One because we will need to replenish our Jaffa quickly. We have chosen him because he is the best specimen here."

"I think you like this human." Sekhmet accused.

Isis stood up abruptly and stared at Sekhmet with eyes glowing. Without saying another word, the ribbon device came to life and swept the warrior goddess off her feet and slammed her into the nearby wall. Sekhmet let out a growl of pain and jumped to her feet, recovering almost immediately with teeth bared.

"We are Goddess of All, we allow you to accompany us because you are our child and you are useful. Do not ever make the mistake of assuming you are equal to us because you are not. We have hatched a thousand like you in our time and we will hatch a thousand more in the days to come." Isis glowered, stepping out of the tub, her body dripping with moisture like an animal newly risen from the primordial ooze, readying itself for combat to the death in the game of survival. "He is ours to do with and until such time as his usefulness is ended, you will remember he is our Chosen One. Do you understand us?"

Sekhmet swallowed, aware she had gone too far and nodded slowly. It was not often the Goddess of All chose to exert her power this way but even Sekhmet was not foolish enough to defy Isis. Her loyalty to the Queen mother was without question and she remained on her knees, humbled by the display of force. "I understand," she said properly subdued. "Please accept my apologies, Goddess of All."

"Your apologies are accepted," Isis remarked with a faint smile. "Now you will tell us if the vessels for your new brothers and sisters are ready."

"Yes," Sekhmet answered quickly. "The crop has been harvested and are gathered in the holding cells, awaiting blending."

"Good," Isis nodded in approval and turned back to her bath. "We must give strength to my children for a little longer but we will soon be ready to create our army. We will call you when we are ready. You may go now."

Biting her lip, Sekhmet rose to her feet with nothing less than rage building inside her veins as she took herself from the presence of her queen and went to sought the one who could satiate her fury with his pain.

Isis said she had to remember he was the Chosen One. She had said nothing about not harming him.

* * *

Something was going on outside.

When Ezra was returned to his cell the next morning, he was assured by Isis that it would not be for long. Even though he fulfilled her needs, he had the sense that she was going to keep him around for reasons other than simple reproduction and hoped that his efforts the night before would convince her to keep him alive for a little longer. He kept telling himself it was just a matter of fluid donation and if he didn't agree to it, she would turn him into one of her mindless slaves which he would not tolerate. He had to do whatever he could to keep that from happening. If that meant providing her with seed to create more of her progeny, it would have to do until he could think of a way to escape. 

After he was left alone in his cell, Ezra became aware of noises outside his window and peered through the bars to observe what was happening. He could see a group of Jaffa guards, as Isis called them, ushering a group of women into the fortress. He counted at least twenty of them and wondered what their purpose was. They were all young, he estimated that the oldest among the group was about Casey Wells’s age. It took a few more minutes to make another observation about the group and that was the fact that they were all very beautiful. Their racial stock was a mixture of African, Mediterranean and Native American but they were all perfect specimens of each type. Actually, beautiful was an incorrect word, Ezra decided after a moment. Healthy. Not one of them looked weak, or physically handicapped in any way.

They were all tall, supple and lithe, still marked by youthful awkwardness of course but the potential to be something extraordinary was there. Suddenly, his heart froze with the realisation at what they were there for. Jaffa. She was turning this entire group into Jaffa. Jaffa that would be seeded by creatures she would create because he allowed her to milk him like a cow. Ezra felt his stomach hollow at the thought, wishing there could have been another way for him to stay alive now he understood what his actions would mean for those innocents outside.

_Jesus, did this nightmare ever end?_

He hated being used as breeding stock, having to betray his friends and the one whose body Isis was in possession with. He loathed the fact he was forced into this circumstances, to have no choice but to comply with their demands in order to survive and he liked it even less he was going to be responsible for enslaving those people outside. He was going to be sick. For a moment, he could do nothing except bury his face in his hands as he tried to deal with this latest development in his insane captivity. Ezra was starting to believe his prison was one without any reprieve and he was going to be trapped in this hell forever. The idea he would never see Julia again, that he would be forced to be Alex’s breeding animal, knowing she was trapped in a hell even worse than his own, filled Ezra with despair tearing the walls of his hope with relentless efficiency.

Just when Ezra thought that things could not get any worse, the door to his cell opened and Sekhmet entered the room. The glare in her eyes as she looked upon him told Ezra he was in a great deal of trouble because even he could tell she was out for blood.

"You are quite favoured by Isis." She said walking towards him, menace in every step she took to close the distance between them. Behind her, the Jaffa guards watched him with indifference, caring little about his plight except to act if he made one move against their Goddess. "What exactly did you do to do her to become her Chosen One."

"A gentlemen never tells." Ezra replied, trying to hide the fear he felt and the pounding inside his chest.

"You will tell me," she said with a smile as her hand captured his chin and forced him against the wall. She looked into his eyes with clear intentions of making his suffer sparkling in her blue grey eyes. "You will tell me and then you will show me."

"My talents are exclusive, Lady." Ezra swallowed, bracing himself for the hurt. "I do not share them."

With a predatory gleam in her eyes as she leaned close to his ear, Sekhmet whispered softly. "By the time I am done with you, you will share everything with me.  Even your pain."


	6. The Madness of Men & Gods

Although they had not planned to enter the village Vin and Teal’c had discovered, there did not seem to be any choice when they had no idea where the fortress of Isis was situated in this land. With Goa’uld technology, the structure could be located anywhere on this planet and the SG1 team understood more than their friends from the past, time was against them.

Jack gambled they were close by because Daniel was insistent in his belief Isis was trapped on PX 250 for some time until they unwittingly released her. The civilisation that deserted the planet was hundreds of years old and thus he assumed the Goddess of All was confined for that long. Judging by what they knew of the Goa’uld, it was likely much of her forces had either disbanded, taking with them the precious technology that made them so god like. It did seem sensible Isis would return to the place that would have suffered the least from such plunder.

As they approached the village, Chris Larabee found himself walking in stride with Jack O’Neill, questioning the prudence of this act. It was never wise to let the enemy know you were around and walking into a village where they would stick out like sore thumbs would undoubtedly give away what meagre advantage they had. Still, Chris agreed to let Jack take the reins since the colonel knew the lay of the land and the Goa’uld better than he ever would. Besides, Jack seemed to be the cautious type and Chris had to believe the man knew what he was doing.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Chris asked as he and Vin fell into stride with Jack and Daniel. The village appeared before them, a cluster of homes made of mud and brick, hardly the stuff to inspire confidence in anyone there was useful information here.

"You mean going into the village?" Jack remarked easily, harbouring no ill feeling regarding the gunslinger’s question. "Yeah, its alright."

"Ain’t we going to be giving ourselves away?" Vin probed, feeling the same concern as Chris regarding their continued approach towards the village. "They seemed mighty afraid of the guards we saw earlier. They might give us away."

"I don’t think so," Daniel responded before Jack could. "Most cultures that are under Goa’uld domination tend to view strangers through the gate with the same reverence they view their Gods. Remember, to them it’s a gateway to heaven or something. They’re most likely to think we’re the same."

"Jesus." Chris found himself reeling with disgust at the ignorance generated by such belief and worse yet, felt a singular hatred for the Goa’uld who manipulated it. "How many of these cultures exist?"

"Lots of them," Jack answered, not wishing to go into too much detail which was what Daniel would do if given the opportunity to speak. "They’re scattered across the galaxy, most of them don’t even know they come from Earth because the Goa’uld have them convinced their gods created them."

"You go to all these places?" Vin inquired, fascinated with the idea of exploring the stars in the manner these people must do on a regular basis. The idea of travelling to undiscovered places was always one that appealed to the tracker, who fancied himself as something of a free spirit.

"Most of them." Daniel answered eagerly, seeing the interest in Vin’s manner. "We visit the people, talk to them and try to learn a little bit about their culture. We look out for things we can use against the Goa’uld and lots of times, we try setting people straight about their gods."

"Does it always work?" The tracker returned his gaze.

"Sometimes and other times, we’re the ones who end up looking like primitives." Daniel chuckled, thinking of those times when the SG team were handed their hats and shown the door.

"Like the Nox." Jack said with a faint smile. He had a deep affection for the race of people who were probably one of the most ancient races in the galaxy, commanding at their fingertips formidable technology surpassing the Goa’uld but were more dedicated to their spiritual belief in peace rather than conquest.

"And you guys are like cowboys." Daniel inquired.

Chris immediately stiffened and threw the young man a dark look that froze the linguist in his tracks. Through gritted teeth, he reminded himself this was not meant as an offensive remark even though Chris had shot a man for saying less in the past. He had a deep aversion to being referred to as a ‘cowboy’. He did not handle cows and it had been a very long time since he had been a boy.

Jack tried to hide the amusement he found at Chris and even Vin’s annoyance and found that he ought to intervene to save Daniel’s neck. During this entire mission, they had hardly time to discuss the fact that both groups were from different points in history, united by a very unusual set of circumstances and a common enemy.

"He didn’t mean anything by it," Jack said to Chris. "Back where we come from, we call all you guys in the West, cowboys."

"We ain’t cowboys." Chris insisted on clarifying that. "I ain’t no cattle hand."

"Sorry," Daniel apologised. "Too much television. Next thing I know, you’re going to be telling me one of you is a gambler, the other a sharpshooter and someone is a doctor."

Vin and Chris looked at each other and then back at Daniel. "What’s your point?" Both men asked in unison.

Daniel looked at Jack on the verge of making an extremely confused statement, when the leader of SG1 merely shook his head in response.

"Let it go." He replied, deciding that this conversation had just gone _far_ enough.

* * *

 

The village surrounded them as they penetrated its outskirts. As observed earlier, it was little more than a collection of mud huts. There was something like a town square where a well stood in attendance over the population’s needs. The gate travellers could see evidence of domesticated animals and the beginnings of arable farming. This place was even more backward than Chulak and Jack realised these people had never known an existence without Goa’uld domination.

Faces began appearing out of windows and doorways of the huts. At first, Jack expected fear and a lot of bowing and worshipping, because that was normally the way things went in Goa’uld controlled populations. However, the deeper they went into the village, one very obvious difference became apparent as they were surrounded by the locals who stared at them all with the exception of one, as if the new arrivals were as mythical as their gods.

They were all women.

Whether old or young, healthy or crippled, the entire population of the village seemed to be female only and they viewed the arrival of the travellers with some thing akin to fascination and unease. Some peered through doors and windows as if it were sacrilege to cast their eyes upon the men who looked like the specimens produced locally. Others pointed and muttered in the strange language that was the spoken word on this world until finally, a woman in her late forties approached them.

A small crowd gathered around them and made both Chris and Jack nervous by all the attention. This was not normally the reception received when the SG team arrived among such primitives. Normally, it required some convincing to make the natives believe they were not a pantheon of gods coming for a visit. Some of the bolder inhabitants, particularly the young women, swarmed around them, staring as if they were the most astonishing things they had ever seen.

"What’s going on?" Chris asked as he found himself surrounded. The women were staring at him with that unfathomable expression, talking excitedly amongst them as they regarded him.

Daniel and Vin in particular seemed to be attracting the most attention. The women surrounding them were unsatisfied with mere observation, caution giving away to fascination as their hands ran over the two men’s bodies until both were starting to feel more than a little uncomfortable by the uninvited probings.

"I don’t think they’ve seen men in awhile." Sam commented, trying to keep herself from laughing at the expression on her male companion’s faces. She remembered the humiliation when they had visited a world where women were traded like property and felt somewhat vindicated that the SG1 team in particular, had a taste of what it was like to be treated with such demeaning regard. "At least not ones like you boys." It was hard to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she made her statement and noticed the scowl being flashed in her direction by the Colonel.

"Well Buck, you’re in heaven." JD quipped while trying to fend off the affections of a particularly fetching beauty who was clad in very little and was taking delight in running her hands across his youthful face. "Please ma’am," he swallowed. "I’m just passing through."

"That’s just great," Buck grumbled, being similarly assessed by the females gathered around him. "I finally get to a place where the women have never even seen a man and I can’t do a damn thing about it."

"There is a God." Josiah laughed while politely tipping his hat to one of the natives, unable to answer any of her attempts to communicate with him. The preacher did not see himself in any kind of danger physically or morally, thinking himself to be a missionary in a strange land and merely needed to thread lightly to not offend.

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed with outrage when he felt a set of hands going some place they had no business being. "Daniel, talk to them please?"

"Uh yeah," Daniel replied, unperturbed by the attention of the natives because he was too busy trying to comprehend their language by listening closely to what they were saying. Words were starting to familiarise themselves in his mind as he searched for the common denominator that would provide him with a clue as to which language they might be speaking.

Suddenly, a woman in her forties appeared before Sam. She seemed to be a village elder of some kind because she seemed to silence the others who held her in some esteem as she addressed the strangers. As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Vin in particular.

"I can’t understand what she’s saying." Sam looked questioningly at Daniel.

Daniel swallowed, understanding most of what the woman was attempting to convey to Sam and feeling a certain reluctance to bring it up because of the nature of the request. However, with Jack waiting impatiently for him to translate and the others appearing to be no less tolerant, prompted Daniel to reveal what had been said.

"Its sort of embarrassing really." Hestruggled to answer. 

"More embarrassing then this?" Jack retorted sarcastically pushing probing hands away from him as he frowned at Daniel to get on with it.

"Sam, she wants to know what you want for your harem." 

"My harem!" Sam exclaimed, looking at the woman and realising that was exactly what it must have appeared to these people, considering her entourage was a group of no less than nine men. "She thinks you guys are my harem?"

"Yeah," Daniel went red with embarrassment while Sam fought the urge to burst out laugh. "She says she's willing to pay you ten goats for each of us." He further added reluctantly, unable to meet her gaze as he passed on that pearl of information.

"We’re worth _ten_ goats a piece?" Buck said feeling some measure of insult. "Well I know I’m worth more than that."

"Daniel," Jack looked at the woman unimpressed and seemed to agree with Buck’s assessment his value was definitely more than ten goats. "Tell them that we are not Carter’s harem," the colonel could not even bring himself to say it. "We just want directions to the Goa’uld."

"Well I don’t know Colonel," Sam could not resist saying. "I mean _ten_ goats is pretty tempting..."

He silenced her with a look.

Daniel stepped forward and responded because the language here was not all that different from what was spoken on Abydos. There were slight variations of course, but these were minor and he was able to communicate their intentions quite clearly. At the same time, he made some general inquiries about the way this culture functioned and about the lack of men in the community. She considered his questions odd by the expression in her eyes and was further confused he could speak their tongue while the only woman in the group could not. Men were not meant to be learned, the woman called Ajia had been kind enough to explain. Still, Daniel did not think that men were considered lowly because Ajia did not like looking at him directly.

"She says she’ll offer twenty goats for Vin." Daniel replied after a moment, getting Ajia’s more pressing request out of the way first since the woman was adamant he make the offer to Sam. It was the only way he had been able to prise any further information about the Netjer, as Ajia called herself and her people, about the Goa’uld control of her community.

"She wants twenty goats for me?" Vin asked mortified, turning red where he stood.

"Yes, apparently you are very fair in face." Daniel added, feeling just as uncomfortable passing on such information to another man, without the benefits of headgear. Vin was likely to punch his lights out. "You look capable of producing many fine children."

"I always thoughts so." Buck started laughing as Vin glared at the man with a stormy expression on his face before appearing as if he was harbouring a secret hope the ground would swallow him up at this point. Despite the urgency to retrieve their friends, no one could deny the humour in the situation even if Vin’s esteem was enduring some severe bruising.

Jack however, was in no mood for levity.

"Daniel…" he stared at the linguist, waiting for more useful information so they could concentrate at the mission at hand. He wanted to repair the damage to the time line by Isis and Sekhmet and return these people back to their places in history so that SG1 could concentrate on the task of getting home.

"It appears," Daniel explained after a few minutes of conversing with the woman. "That breeding is made very selectively. The males are kept in Isis’s fortress and there are only a handful of them. Apparently a very select culling process was made when the village was first established. Only healthy males were brought through the gate and the ratio sounds something in the area of 1 to every twenty women. The purpose is to create a perpetual stock of breeding males while at the same time, keeping numbers down. No children are born here without the Goa’ulds selecting the female in question."

"Christ." Chris found himself reeling with disgust. "You mean there are no children born in this place unless these Goa’ulds give them permission?"

"The Goa’uld want perfect bodies Chris Larabee," Teal’c explained. "By severing access to propagate naturally, the Goa’uld ensure that perfect hosts are created while at the same time, ensuring that numbers do not rise enough to be a threat to them. With the absence of Isis for so long, it may not have been possible for the Jaffa to replenish their ranks and thus had to conserve the larvae Goa’uld as much as possible."

"So that’s where Ezra is?" Nathan inquired, feeling Chris's distaste just as prolifically as his own. The reaction of the women around him no longer seemed humorous, in fact it seemed downright monstrous and not unlike the type of life he had endured when he was still a slave on the plantation. It appeared that the village was being managed as deftly as the plantation owners used to administer their slave population. The whole thing made his stomach turn.

"If he was taken for breeding," Daniel nodded. "That’s probably where he’d be."

"All right," Jack replied. "Daniel find out where this fortress is." An idea having formed in his head now he understood the social politics that existed in this place. "As soon as it gets dark, we’ll make for it."

"She also says that the gods have taken a large number of their strongest daughters." Daniel replied, leaving no misconception as to what that might mean. "She’s probably already reproducing."

"Damn," Jack swore under his breath, hoping to arrived here before that took place. If the Goa’uld queen was already nesting, then very soon they would be up to their necks in new Jaffa troops.

"If she’s making more of these," Chris suggested. "We can't wait until nightfall."

Jack could not disagree with Chris on that point. As it was, it might be already too late but he knew from experience newborn Goa’uld larvae needed time to gain strength before they were implanted in their host bodies. They still had time to avert disaster but not if they waited until tonight. They had to move _now_.

"Jack," Chris spoke up after considering their options and suddenly realised there was one way they could get into the place and it made all the sense in the world, especially in view of where they now found themselves. "I’ve got a plan."

* * *

Isis was pleased.

The new larvae were thriving and would soon be ready for implantation into their new hosts. She had checked on the progress of her new children and saw the hours passing were making them strong. It gave her great satisfaction to know soon she would have her army again and then she would be able to shape this world into the spearhead that would begin the reestablishment of her power among the System Lords. A thousand years of confinement had wetted her appetite for conquest once again and she needed it to live, as vitally as she needed this host body to survive.

Isis did not like to think of her time, trapped in a living death in the prison fashioned by the Nerfetum. While she and Sekhmet had spent much of the time in stasis, she hated being asleep for so long. It felt like an entire lifetime had passed her by even though by Goa’uld standards, a millennia was not at all lengthy even if time passed no slowly for them than it did for the unseeded hosts. Of course, Sekhmet had suffered for it and Isis was beginning to suspect the long confinement might have affected her more than it should have. There was a time when she and Sekhmet disagreed on nothing and the younger goddess adhered to her decisions without question. The exchange between them earlier would have been unimaginable a thousand years ago and yet now, Sekhmet seemed unstable and bore watching closely.

The Goddess of All made a mental note to examine Sekhmet when time allowed it. After all, she was the patron goddess of healing according to the hosts and there was a great deal of knowledge at her disposal. Inwardly, she could hear the host’s mind screaming Sekhmet was mad, that a thousand years of confinement had made her insane. Isis crushed the voice mercilessly into submission, refusing to believe Sekhmet, her proudest achievement, her greatest pupil could succumb to anything. Sekhmet had been her close ally, unlike Hathor, also one of her children who had become a queen on her own and taken her place at Ra’s side when Isis chose to withdraw from the realm of the Tau’Ri.

Always escorted by her personal guards, Isis who would  never make the mistake of being unguarded as she had been when the Nerfertum defeated her, journeyed to the cells of the fortress where her future Pharoah was currently imprisoned. Although the dungeon was hardly the place to keep her Chosen One, at the time it had been necessary. With so few Jaffa left in the fortress, she could not waste them guarding him when they were required to secure more host bodies to fill their ranks when her children were ready for implantation. 

Arriving at the dungeon, she noticed the two guards at the doorway to his cell, looking rather apprehensive at her approach. Isis ignored them, seldom caring about what her Jaffa thought because their welfare interested her little. Still, as she instructed them to open the door to the Chosen One’s cell, the fear lingered until even Isis began to wonder what had motivated it.

"Jaffa." She said in her commanding tone. "You appear fearful. Tell your Goddess why?"

The older of the two, a seasoned veteran with Isis’s gold signet emblazoning her brow spoke, her eyes lowered to Isis’s feet as she replied to her Goddess’s request.

"Forgive me for speaking out of turn Goddess of All," she said quietly. "We were led to believe that he is to be your Chosen One."

"That is correct," Isis found her gaze shifting to the door and a terrible feeling started to permeate even her ancient soul. "We have chosen him for our consort and our Pharoah. Explain to us Jaffa, why this gives you fear?"

"We were merely following our instructions as given to us by the Eye of Ra. We could not question her my lady, since she speaks in your name." The Jaffa continued rather uneasily until Isis felt her patience with the whole matter draining.

"Isis, Goddess of All demands you explain yourself, _now_." Isis repeated herself, tolerating no more delay in this Jaffa’s stilted effort to tell her what was the matter.

"Forgive me my lady," the Jaffa nodded humbly. "He has been injured. We do not believe he can survive without your healing. If he is to be your Chosen One, he must be tended to now."

Isis did not let the Jaffa continue and swept past her, realising what it was her servant was trying to tell her with so little success. Raising her hand and not even bothering with a key, the ribbon device came to life on her hand and tore the door away from its lock, causing it to slam loudly against the wall. It was dark inside but she needed no lamp to see, the ribbon device began to illuminate brightly enough for her to find him, lying against the wall. She could hear strained sounds of agony and whimpering, as if holding it back was too much and succumbing to it was the only way to endure.

Isis strode towards him, dropping to her knees upon her approach. She rolled him over and heard him cry out in pain as her hand made contact with his skin and he flinched at her touch. His shirt was gone, the torn shreds of material lay on the ground and the bruising to his skin was considerable. There did not appear to be any part of his torso not discoloured and then there was the stench of burning, followed by the result of what she knew to be a staff weapon held against the skin at low power. At low power, it would not kill but it would burn and cause enough pain to be quite an effective tool of torture.

She placed her hand on his face and found it was covered in blood. Both eyes were swollen so badly, she doubted he could see out of it. There were deep cuts across his chest, his face and his back and the slick wetness against the stone floor was his blood, pooling steadily from the wounds of a dozen injuries. He was nearly unrecognisable from the human whom she'd seen the night before. Isis caressed his cheeks and saw him react once again in pain before she realised his jaw was broken for his face was twisted from the swelling.

"Jaffa!" Isis fairly roared, her voice filling up the cell and her eyes glowed so brightly that even her guards had reason to fear. All four guards, including the two guarding the cell entrance stepped forward ready to take their orders. Isis stroked his feverish brow, feeling the heat under his skin signalling the burning of infection. She placed the ribbon gem over his palm and filled the room with an amber glow as the stone flared with energy. "Sleep now Chosen," she whispered softly. "When you wake, your pain will be no more."

In the same breath, she turned to her guards and spoke in a voice that lacked none of its earlier tenderness. "I want him placed in the sarcophagus immediately."

"My lady," the Jaffa who had spoken earlier found herself in the unenviable position of producing more unhappy news to her goddess. "Our sarcophagus is no more. Before your return, the gods who matured in your wake plundered much of your temple’s treasures, believing you were dead. We of the Jaffa had managed to replace many items lost but not the sarcophagi."

Isis swore, realising the plan inspiring this cruelty. "You take how many you need with you and go to the Chappaii. The world of the Tau’Ri from which we emerged with this body has a sarcophagus there, you will bring it to us so we may use it to restore our Consort. If you fail us in this, we will have your skin torn from your body to make his death shroud, do we make ourselves understood!"

The Jaffa swallowed visibly, mistaking nothing.

"As you will Goddess of All." She nodded and motioned the others with her to follow. Only two of Isis’s personal bodyguards remain and would continue to do so until death. When the others were gone, Isis rose to her feet. "You will take him to our quarters and guard him with your lives. No harm is to come to our Chosen One? We make the same threat to you as we did to those who allowed this to happen to our new Pharoah."

"Great goddess, we would wish nothing more." The guard quickly returned. "But if we are met with the Lady Sekhmet, what then shall we do?"

"You need not worry about that," Isis said as she stormed past them. "We need to teach the Eye of Ra, what it is to defy us."

* * *

"It’s a good plan." Jack agreed having heard the outline of Chris Larabee’s strategy and deciding it would not have been too indifferent to the plan he had been formulating on his own. Of course, Chris was extremely motivated towards its success, considering what was at stake here was the life of his wife.

"I don’t know Sir," Sam found herself doubtful about the plan considering there were some elements of it would be relying on chance when it was clear that a surgical strike was needed here. "We’re depending on a lot here. If Isis has reinforcements on the way, getting into her fortress is not going to be easy."

"Sam, it’s the only plan we got and Isis won’t be expecting us to come through the gate after her." Daniel spoke up in defence of Chris’s plan because like Jack, he believed it was the best chance of getting inside the formidable defences of the Goa’uld enclave.

"Come on Samantha," Buck looked at her with an encouraging smile, convinced she could pull this off since he had seen her accomplish some very amazing things already. It did not take much for every member of the seven to know the lady had a great deal of knowledge as well as courage, to be wearing the uniform of a soldier. Sam reminded Buck of Inez, possessing the same hidden strength that did not exert itself until required. He had no doubt she disarmed many enemies with her understated manner. "You can do this."

Buck’s confidence gave Sam a boost she found quite unexpected and she realised she liked the man more than she should. "I hope you guys are right about this."

"It can’t work without you ma’am." Vin added his voice to Buck’s. He heard from JD it was she who placed him in the device back at the cavern that healed his serious injuries. Vin appreciated Sam was capable of more than she appeared because he was used to dealing with women who proved quite often the only hurdles before them were the ones imposed on them by men who underestimated them.

"Sure," Sam rolled her eyes. "Sweeten me up."

Of course there was never any question of her not carrying out her duties. She was a United States Air Force major and while the Colonel had not made it an order, they both knew she had little choice in the matter. Besides, they had to go in this way. Teal’c believed time was against them. They had to reach the fortress before new Jaffa were created. As it was, the abandoned fortress back on Earth was filled with Goa’uld weaponry. There was no reason to assume it would be any different here. While the Netjer told Daniel there had been no signs of flying machines or huge pyramids in the sky, it did not mean that the new Jaffa would not have a formidable arsenal at their disposal after they were implanted. If there was any chance of retrieving Mary Travis Larabee, Alexandra Styles and Ezra Standish, they had to do it now.

After Ajia gave Daniel directions where Isis’s temple was situated, the group set off amidst desperate pleas by the women of the village against doing so. Men were not the favoured of Isis and those that would not serve would be killed. To prove their story, they were shown the graves of male children who were put to the death for being less than perfect hosts. The horror of the field of small graves struck at the core of both Jack and Chris who unknowingly shared the same grief of having lost a son to violence. Neither spoke as they viewed what Ajia showed them although each member of the seven and SG1 felt a fierce desire to remove the Goa’uld threat from Netjer.

Until Isis and Sekhmet were destroyed, the Netjer would never have a chance to be free.

Once they put suitable distance between themselves and the village, Jack noticed a more pressing issue that had to be raised and dealt with before they encountered the Goa’uld. They had returned to the cover of thick woods lying between them and the fortress, following the directions Daniel extracted from Ajia and the trail that Vin and Teal’c were finding through the dense jungle. However, before they proceeded any further, Jack called the entire party to a halt.

"What is it Colonel?" Sam asked being second senior ranking officer.

"We have a little problem." Jack remarked as he studied at the arsenal being carried by the men accompanying them on this mission. While they might have been formidable ordinance in their time, they were less than adequate in dealing with an enemy carrying zat guns and staff weapons, not to mention the firepower in the antiquated guns may not even penetrate Jaffa armour. In a close quarter’s combat, the liability could cost them dearly.

"What kind of problem?" Chris looked at him, not liking this delay now they were so close to finding Mary.

"Who is your best shooter?" Jack asked, ignoring the question.

Instinctively, all eyes shifted to Vin who looked back at the Colonel, wondering what this had to do with anything.

"I’m guessing that’s you." Jack said to him and then turned to Daniel. "Daniel, give him your gun and all spare magazines."

Daniel did so without question, understanding what Jack was getting at now. He knew he was an average shot but someone with the skill, could make better use of the weapon then he could. "Sure."

"There’s 80 rounds in that gun." Jack explained, giving the tracker a quick run down of how to use the P90. "You’re not used to an automatic so keep it off rapid fire. If you can make every bullet count, that will be a good thing."

Vin examined the exotic looking weapon with its sight and experimentally took aim, getting a feel for the trigger and the rest of its futuristic accessories. He was more accustomed to his Winchester but he understood Jack’s reasoning.

"Its light." He commented. There was not a weapon that Vin Tanner could not master and this was no different as long as it worked when he aimed and fired.

"Carter, Teal’c pass your sidearms out, same drill." He ordered and gave Chris his own 45-calibre weapon, capable of putting a very big hole through a steel drum and should have the same effect on Jaffa armour. He gave Chris his spare cartridges before addressing them again. "When you meet the Jaffa, don’t aim for the helmets. It’s armoured and even our bullets don’t seem to penetrate them. Fortunately, their armour is mostly limited to the head and neck area. If you shoot them, aim for the chest."

"Will they be women?" JD had to ask because he had once had the unfortunate luck to be responsible for shooting a woman and the experience left him anxious about doing so intentionally now.

"The Jaffa of Isis will be female." Teal’c answered for Jack because he saw the colonel appearing somewhat uncomfortable himself about the question. "Do not make the mistake of thinking them less dangerous because of their gender. They will die before allowing you to harm Isis. You must purge yourself of any hesitation at firing upon them. If you do not, then they will kill you."

JD nodded, unable to ignore the warning in the big man’s words. "I’ll do what I got to."

"Is there any way we can reason with them?" Nathan asked, hating to believe that killing was the only way to reach them.

"No," Teal’c replied. "Jaffa are the sworn protectors of the gods. They do not see it as a duty but a privilege to serve their masters and they will die before allowing anyone to harm their gods. There is no reasoning with them." Suddenly, Teal’c fell silent and his eyes met Vin’s who also heard what the other’s had not sensed by the quiet shift in the air.

"Someone’s coming." Vin hissed.

"Take cover!" Jack ordered and the group immediately scattered, seeking cover in the thick growth. While vegetation that relied upon sunlight was scarce, there were a lot of vines and thick creepers that provided them the concealment they needed. Within seconds, they disappeared from view, taking refuge in the flora as the trio of Jaffa made their appearance. The visitors from the past watched with a mixture of fear and fascination at their first sight of Isis’s sworn protectors.

They were dressed as Jack had said, wearing fearsome looking helmets with a faceplate shaped in the form of a lion. No part of their head could be seen and the armour sat firmly on their shoulders and protected their necks. Their bodies were covered in some kind of chain mail which Jack had been correct in believing could be penetrated by bullets. They carried staff weapons, and zat guns were tucked in the belts around their waists. They were dressed very much like the Jaffa guards belonging to Ra, with short skirts that provided little cover for their legs. Their hands looked like claws mostly because the gauntlets they were wearing only covered the upper portion of their fingers and looked more like ribbon devices then actual gloves. They appeared as frightening as they had been described and it was no wonder the natives were so afraid of them.

The trio made their way effortlessly through the foliage, unhampered by the dense jungle and apparently oblivious to their presence. The off worlders watched with abated breath as they moved past, with Jack trying to decide when the best way to overpower them. Chris’ plan for infiltrating the fortress relied heavily upon acquiring a Jaffa uniform for Sam. Until now, they expected to reach the fortress first and then decide how that would happen, but with three Jaffa warriors in the vicinity, the opportunity was too good to pass.

Suddenly, one of them paused.

The lion’s head helmet pivoted from left to right as she studied the surrounding area, trying to see past the dense growth to find them. The eyes of the lion’s head flashed with eerie blue light as she cocked her head and then brandished her staff weapon. Those with her did the same, activating the barrel of the weapon, which cackled with unearthly light. They could easily lay waste to the entire area if Jack did not think of something soon. No sooner than the thought flashed through his mind, he saw Sam standing up from where she was hidden.

"What the hell is she doing?" He hissed at Teal’c who was next to him.

Teal’c did not answer because he did not know.

Neither did Sam but an idea came to her and she knew if she did not act, this was going to break into a firefight and for all their weapons, the Jaffa were expecting them. The Jaffa swung immediately in her direction to fire until the guard saw what she was wearing on her hand and hesitated for a moment, just long enough for Sam to do what was required.

"Jaffa, _kree_!" Sam shouted and threw the others into disarray as the ribbon weapon came to life and flung the Jaffa into the trees as the amber light struck her chest. Sam heard the terrible snapping of bone as the guard smashed against the trunk of a tree and tumbled to the ground unmoving. The light glowing from the mask dimmed. In the meantime, the distraction was all that Jack and the other’s needed to emerge from their hiding places and start shooting. Sam dropped under cover once again as bullets tore through the air from Jack and Teal’c’s weapons. The two remaining Jaffa guard swung in their direction to fire when the hail of artillery from SG1’s weapons made short work of them.

Bullets impacted visibly off the helmets as Jack had predicted but the unarmoured part of their bodies proved to be their weakness as the projectiles tore through their chest and felled them quickly. They were dead before they even hit the ground. The travellers from the past had not fired, perhaps because it was a hurdle to wide for them to gulf at the spur of the moment. Chris emerged at the same time as Jack, knowing eventually he and his friends would have to shoot.

"Nice work, little lady." Josiah tipped his hat at Sam when the group began to emerge from their hiding places to examine the bodies.

"Thanks," Sam said blushing slightly; feeling strange being called that. It reminded her of something said to her when she was so much younger than she was now.

"Carter, what was that?" Jack asked annoyed, unwilling to let her off even though she probably saved all their necks.

"Well Sir, I took a chance." She offered meekly because she could not articulate into words the compulsion that made her take such a gamble.

"Big chance. She could have just shot you."

"Hey," Buck immediately came to her defence. "She did save our asses." He pointed out, glaring at Jack because things could have been worse, a lot worse.

Jack exchanged a glance with Daniel and noted the linguist had the same expression on his face and decided that Buck was probably right and so was Carter. A small smile stole across his lips as he regarded her again, feeling no real anger but more concern because Sam was not just a member of SG1, she was his friend and he did not want her endangering her life unnecessarily.

"She’s good at doing that." Jack said throwing a sidelong glance at Buck to show him that he was not really mad at her. "Good work Major."

"Thank you Sir." Sam grinned.

"Now let’s get a uniform and all their ordinance." Jack ordered. He kneeled over the form of the dead Jaffa and retrieved the zat gun tucked in her belt. Sam was already searching the trio to see which one of them she was going to be relieving of their uniform.

"Chris," Jack motioned the gunslinger to him. "When we run into your wife, this is what you need to use on her."

Chris took the odd shaped weapon in his hands and looked at Jack in question. "How?"

"Wait a minute," Nathan looked closely at the weapon that Chris was examining with deep scrutiny. "I think this is what she used on you when they were going through the gate. She shot you and Ezra once with that."

Chris remembered and had all questions answered when he realised just how devastating its effects were upon the body. Even now, he felt the slight aching in his limbs from the weapon’s discharge and could well understand why Jack wanted him to have this. If he intended retrieving Mary, this was the best chance of doing so. It would immobilise her with one shot without permanently harming her.

"I remember," he nodded at Nathan. "It hurts like hell."

"Its meant to." Jack replied. "Its primarily used for that purpose but you only get one shot at her. Two shots will kill her and three will turn her to dust."

"What about Alex?" Vin asked. "What do we use on her?"

"We will never get close enough to Isis to be able to use such a weapon on her." Teal’c replied automatically. "Sekhmet is an ally of Isis but she is not the Goddess of All, while the Jaffa would protect her if she were endangered, they would likely forsake her if they believed Isis is in danger. These weapons," he picked up a staff weapon while Daniel handed Jack and Buck the remaining zat guns. "Will be of little use against her. Samantha Carter is the only one who can stop her."

Vin shrugged uncomfortably, trying hard to remember Isis was not his Alex but could not disassociate himself with the fact that any harm done to Isis would make it more impossible for him to ever get Alex back.

* * *

Sekhmet lay among the silken pillows, gazing into the ceiling, feeling satisfaction coursing through her body as she savoured the scent of blood against her skin and the soft whimpers of those dying around her. She was tired now and could think of nothing more pleasurable than falling a sleep amongst the efforts of a very satisfying day. She could see her Jaffa Guards at their posts at the entrance of the door, trying to hide their fear and not doing a very job of it. She wondered if they had any feelings on what she had done. After all, they had guarded the individuals in this room for a very long time and might have something to say about the fact that she had butchered their charges in a day.

They lay strewn across the floor, beautiful bodies now broken and bleeding. There were probably some alive but she did not really concern herself with that, relishing only the tortured cries of one and feeling her heart hardened by the fact he had not submitted to her no matter how much she had tortured him. She could have taken him of course but she had given her oath to Isis she would not interfere with the decision to make him the Consort of the Goddess to All. To his credit, he endured all the tortures stoically, tolerating more than she would have thought him capable. It was strange, she had not pictured him terribly formidable and yet he had managed to resist, until her frustration had driven her to hurt him with even more intensity than she had originally intended.

Let Isis make him her Chosen One, now he was not pretty and when there was no sarcophagus to miraculously mend his beautiful skin now that it was beautiful no more. She rested her head on her pillow and started to giggle, feeling the delicious warmth of hearing him scream, replaying the sound over and over again in her head, until her delight bordered on arousal. He had been engaging but she was certain the pleasure she had derived from him paled in comparison to the specimen she truly wanted and that was her host's husband. The one in black whom Isis claimed she would kill before breaking. Sekhmet was almost tempted to return to the land of the Tau’Ri and retrieve him for just that purpose. Perhaps she would do just that when the new Jaffar were created.

Besides, it was probably a wise idea for them to retrieve the sarcophagus from the abandon fortress anyway, especially when there was none here. Eventually, these bodies would need the maintenance they always seemed to require and Sekhmet liked this new host. She liked hearing the disjointed whimpers of her host mind, making itself heard particularly after every drop of blood she shed. It gave Sekhmet pleasure to know she was causing it as much pain as she was forcing her victims to endure. She stood up from the bed she was lying on and looked around her at the men who inhabited this room for so long.

Most of them were dead.

She had used her hands and she had used staff weapons and anything else that might inflict pain and amuse her. Wearing the same dress she used when she tortured the human earlier, the white fabric was smeared in blood and fluid as she glided across the marble floor, examining her handy work and seeing if there was still anyone left alive to entertain herself with. There were sounds emanating from a few of them, tortured groans of pains because of broken bones, torn flesh and burnt skin. It was almost music to her ears.

The guards suddenly stepped aside as Isis, Goddess of All walked into the large room. She paused at the doorway, the sentries quickly falling into stride with her, playing the part of body guards now, instead of custodians to the dead males who were their charges for so long. They felt no sorrow for the deaths but rather confusion as to what the males’ purpose had been. For so long, they had been the progenitor of new Jaffa hosts and now they were discarded and killed.

Isis let her eyes survey the room and saw the dead lying in pools of blood, insects starting to buzz over their bodies as the heat of the day continue to rise. Eventually, their stink would permeate throughout the fortress. There were some alive but without the sarcophagus, their use was limited and they would die, just as her Consort would die if it was not brought back from the world of the Tau’Ri.

"What have you done?" Isis found demanded. Her eyes glowing with rage and a slight measure of horror.

"I played." Sekhmet smiled, unrepentant.

"Come to us." Isis ordered, taking a step forward and noticing her guards were remaining close as if they feared for her. After seeing what insanity had taken place in this room at Sekhmet’s hands, it was forgiven they should believe her in danger from the Eye of Ra. "You are not well daughter," Isis said honestly believing their imprisonment had driven Sekhmet mad. "We wish to cure this sickness that has infected your mind."

"I am the Eye of Ra and I am as well as I have ever been!" Sekhmet roared, incensed by the suggestion.

"You have openly defied us Sekhmet and in two millennia, this is unprecedented." Isis said approaching her cautiously, watching Sekhmet whose eyes were starting to burn with as much hatred as the violence her body was poised to inflict upon Isis herself. "The long confinement in the Nefertum has harmed you. You will come to us so that we can correct your injury."

"The confinement did nothing to harm me!" Sekhmet screeched, almost maniacal in her determination to convince Isis, only serving to prove to the Goddess of All she was correct in her original assertion of Sekhmet’s state of mind. "It strengthened me! I am more powerful than I have ever been and I will not give up the play or the suffering."

"You have threatened our existence here by this elimination of hosts. Without these humans as breeding stock, from where do you think new Jaffa of the future will come? We will be forced to scavenge other worlds to replenish them! We must replace them all because of what you have done here!" The death of the men before her concerned Isis little but the reasoning absent in Sekhmet’s mind when she had done this was of great concerned to the Gao’uld queen. It was symptomatic of a larger problem. A Goa’uld could always be counted upon to satisfy its predilections but not at the cost of bringing harm to itself and Sekhmet’s actions was clearly doing this.

"They are men!" Sekhmet returned viciously. "Use them for your pleasure! Abuse them at your leisure! Is that not what you taught me!"

"We taught you that but not like this. Our position is weak. None of the System Lords are aware of our existence so we must move quietly until we gain our strength. We have no ships, no death gliders, nothing to protect us if Ra and the others chose to attack. We would have birthed new larvae and watch a new crop of hosts grow before we would be ready to acquire that which we have lost. Now not only must we return to the Tau’Ri and retrieve the sarcophagi but we must also bring back more males. They are not what they used to be, they are powerful now. You saw them as well as we did. Neither can we go to worlds other than the Tau’Ri because the System Lords may discover us."

The idea of returning to the Tau’Ri and retrieving males pleased Sekhmet. "I will go and bring the sarcophagi back."

"No," Isis shook her head. "You will remain here. We have already despatched Jaffa to the Chappaii, they will do what needs to be done. You will stay with us until we have determined if you are fit to make any judgement of your own."

"You will not hold me here like a child!" Sekhmet’s eyes flashed with insane fury.

"We will do whatever we wish because we are the Goddess of All. You have already shown poor judgement in your actions in this room and to your inability to comprehend our orders regarding the new Pharoah. You cannot be trusted to make your own decisions." Isis said also preparing to fend off any attack should it come to that.

Suddenly, a smile stole across Sekhmet’s face as her anger slipped away from her readiness to attack and instead, a look of cruelty entered her eyes as she approached Isis.

"You are the one who has been making ill judgements. You have allowed your host to infect your mind. In two millennia, you say that it is unprecedented that I defy you? I put to you that in two millennia, you have not chosen any man to be your Pharoah and now you have. Why is that? Is it perhaps you liked this human male? Perhaps the host has a memory of affection that has clouded your mind?"

Isis responded by expelling a blast of energy from the ribbon device in her hand. The ray of amber light ejected from the gemstone, flinging Sekhmet across the room like a rag doll. Her body slammed into a nearby table, crushing it with the force of her impact. Sekhmet landed hard but recovered quickly with the agility of a hunter, rolling across the broken fragments, hardly noticing the cuts on her back as she landed on her knees and then stood up, unperturbed by the attack.

"Are we going to fight over this human?" She asked, her voice becoming course and hard, the Goa’uld menace exuding through her glowing eyes.

"No, we do not fight." Isis shook her head and lashed out again, sweeping Sekhmet off her feet in another blast of power, slamming into a wall and dislodging whatever was hung there. Objects clattered around her ears as blood began to ooze out of Sekhmet’s mouth. "We merely wish to remind you of who you are and who we are in the great design. You are the Eye of Ra, Warrior Goddess and ally to us, your queen. We forgive you your insolence for we know that it is a result of your illness and we will try to heal you but our lessons are neither quick or painless for one such as you."

She scrambled to her feet and glared at Isis with a smile on her bloody lips. "I enjoy pain," she stood up with great dignity. "Inflict it upon me at your will goddess and when you are done, I will kill you."

* * *

There was no mistaking Isis’s bastion of power on Netjer when the off worlders finally came upon it.

It appeared exactly the same as the fortress that SG1 had seen on PX250. This one was partially underground but in better condition than its counter part on that other doomed world. As they neared it, they could see the structure partially jutting out of the earth, like something attempting to reach the light of day and not quite succeeding. Although there were no signs of visible activity outside, Jack did not expect there to be a heavy complement of guards. If the Jaffa ranks were as depleted as suspected, Isis may not consider the Netjer enought of a threat to post guards nor did she expect there to be visitors through the gate.

There was still plenty of daylight and while it would have been prudent to attempt their infiltration by night, they did not have that choice. The fortress was surrounded by a buffer of cleared trees and would provide no concealment when they attempted to cross it to reach the fortress. As they stood on the boundary where the trees ended and the clearing began, Jack looked over his shoulder at Sam who was fixing the helmet into position over her head.

"You ready Carter?" 

"As I’ll ever be." She stepped forward, feeling decidedly uncomfortable wearing the Jaffa uniform, especially when it left so much of her exposed. Even though the lawmen were trying not to notice her bare skin, Sam could still feel their eyes moving across her legs, probably since the women of their time languished under layers and layers of skirts. Still, she could not help feeling a bit embarassed and was glad no one could see her blush under the helmet.

"Well you look creepy." Daniel remarked, never liking these uniforms very much. Teal’c serpent guard uniforms did not inspire so much of the fear that Ra’s Jaffa guards did. For centuries, they held the people of Abydos under complete domination because they looked so terrifying. He hated to admit it but Isis’s lion guards provoked the same kind of anxiety in him as the first time he stared into the face of Ra’s first prime, Anubis.

"That’s a good thing, right?" JD inquired, having to admit he did not like the way her eyes were glowed or the fearsome visage of the mask she wore. The whole concept frightened him that something could just steal a person’s body as it had done to Mary and Alex, not to mention what Ezra was enduring at this point.

"I guess so." Sam said uncertainly.

"All right," Jack spoke up. "You guys know the drill, hang back until we give the signal."

Gesturing to Chris and Vin to do the same, he hid his zat gun under his clothes and relinquished his rifle to Sam, expecting the two men to follow suit. Once Sam had all their artillery tucked away and they looked seemingly harmless, Jack decided it was time to move out. "Okay, let’s get going."

"Good luck." Buck sang out quietly as the three men emerged first with Sam following closely behind them. Her staff weapon aimed firmly at their backs as she marched them to the steps that led inside the massive stone bunker. The huge steps leading into the bunker were flanked by enormous statues of lions that appeared to have almost sentry like positions at the head of the wide stone stairs that culminated at a set of very large doors. The architecture of the fortress was definitely Egyptian in design although Jack could not for the life of him be more precise than that. This was Daniel’s field. However, he did take note they appeared to look a lot like Ra’s fortress on Abydos and the memory that Isis might be closely affiliated to him, made him nervous.

Although they had not realised Ra’s importance in the Goa’uld hierarchy until after their encounter with Apophis and the other System Lords, Jack knew one thing. Ra was by all rights their Supreme Leader. The one ship Jack had seen in Abydos was almost nothing like the others SG1 would encounter later. It was far more formidable and had it been one of these that had been sent to invade Earth some time ago, Jack was not so certain how they would have prevailed against it. In the future he knew, Jack had no doubt much of Ra’s arsenal was still out there somewhere, unclaimed. It further frightened him to the core if Isis was that closely aligned with Ra, as Daniel believed, then she might actually call on the System Lord who was still alive at this point in history.

That was not an encounter, Jack would like to make again.

"Where is everybody?" Sam asked quietly as they continued up the stairs and noticed there were no guards posted at the entrance to the fortress.

"Something is up." Jack tensed, wondering if they should abort because this felt too easy, almost like a trap. He told himself immediately that was impossible. No one knew they were here and the village could not have gotten word back to the fortress fast enough to anticipate this invasion by them. However, if this was not a trap then the chance to get inside was too good to resist.

"No guards?" Chris guessed accurately what was causing the colonel so much concern.

"Yeah." Jack nodded as they continued up the steps towards the huge stone doors. As they closed the distance; they began to hear sounds of some sort of commotion taking place. It took him a moment to familiarise himself with the noise to realise that he recognised what he was hearing. Instinctively, he turned to Sam even though he knew he shouldn’t. "Does that sound to you like a ribbon device?" He asked. The weapon made a very distinct hum of discharging power. In the years they had encountered the Goa’uld, it could not be mistaken for anything else.

"Yes it does," Sam nodded but unable to understand what was happening.

"It sounds like all hell is breaking loose in there." Vin retorted as they hastened their pace.

"Sir," Sam looked at Jack. "All the Jaffa might be engaged in dealing with whatever is causing that." She declared as the commotion grew louder and did not show any signs of abating.

"Then we better get the others before they work out we’re here too." Chris suggested and immediately broke away from the group before Jack could stop him, which he did not because Chris was right about this. There would never be a better opportunity.

Chris hurried down the steps and reached enough distance to ensure the others would see him from their hiding place in the woods. Waving his hat about, he waited for them to emerge from the tree line, now that he had given them the signal to proceed. It took no more than a few seconds before he saw Buck appear, followed by the rest of his friends and the SG1 team. Crossing the buffer zone with the greatest of speed, they made it to the steps unaccosted and further convinced Chris that something dire was happening inside the fortress that required their intention immediately.

"What’s happening?" Daniel asked the minute he reached Chris who had already retreated up the stairs the way he came.

"Don’t know," Chris replied abruptly, eager to join Vin, Jack and the woman who had continued through the doorway while he had gone for reinforcements. "But it sounds pretty bad. Lots of noise and no guards."

It did not take the group long to find other members of their party and as they advanced deeper through the wide hallways, it was not difficult to be led to the source of the chaos. Sam took the lead because she was the least in danger should they be discovered. Fortunately, whatever was taking place inside the fortress was occupying most of the Jaffa’s attention and they were allowed to roam its halls unimpeded. They could fear footsteps and excited voices amidst the booming noise of breaking objects, the roar of staff weapons being fired, not to mention the damnable humming that could only come from a ribbon device, emanating from further down the halls.

"Okay, we need to split up." Jack decided as they came to a pause at a juncture. Their numbers were large and not easy to conceal in such close quarters if they were discovered. No, he shook the thought of his head, not if, _when_. "Daniel, you come with me, Sam, Chris and Vin. "This is the plan. We’re going to go after Isis and Sekhmet." Without missing a beat and aware that questions were pending, Jack quickly addressed Teal’c directly. "The rest of you will go find your friend."

"And when we find him? Do we wait for you?" Teal’c asked.

"No," Jack shook his head in answer. "When you find him, you get out of here and take him through the gate. We will meet you back on Earth."

"Wait a minute..." Buck protested immediately. "We ain’t leaving you here."

"Buck’s right," Nathan added almost as vehemently. "We’ve seen the odds, you can’t take this on alone."

"Do it." Chris said sharply, knowing while they might have difficult accepting such an order from Jack O’Neill, he was another matter entirely. "You find Ezra and get him through the gate. No arguments, you hear?"

"Chris, this ain’t wise." Josiah said reluctantly, never one to argue with Chris but these were hardly normal circumstances and it did not sit right with him that they should just leave.

"It ain’t wise," Vin agreed meeting Chris’s gaze. "But it’s the right thing to do."

"Fine," Buck conceded the point, seeing that Chris was adamant about this and the gunslinger seldom made requests like this lightly. "We’ll find Ezra and get out of here."

"Good," Chris offered a slight nod of thanks to Buck whose consent would prompt the others to kerb their disagreement with his choice, besides this was hardly the time for it.

"Get going Teal’c." Jack ordered and the Jaffa bowed his head slightly in obedience before withdrawing up the way they came, with the others following closely as they began the search for Ezra Standish. When they could not longer be seen in the corridor, Jack turned back to Chris.

"Now, let’s go get your wife."


	7. The Warrior Goddess

Ezra Standish woke up.

He woke up to sound, beating against his ears, entering his mind covertly through the soft luxury of the feathers upon which his head was rested. He had been dreaming of red hair and scented skin, holding him close while a soft voice whispered in his ears and told him that he should sleep, for he would awaken into a dream, not fall asleep into one. He remembered her soft hands on his brow, laughing with him as they became lost in a tangle of sheets, scented heavily with their love making and knew he never wanted to be anywhere else, except in her warm embrace. In the darkness of the pain into which Ezra Standish awoke, only one word made any sense.

Julia.

He wept upon regaining consciousness, feeling painfully weak even though he was allowed. He could feel it covering him, the torn skin, the broken flesh and the blood, the god-awful stench of blood that curdled his stomach and made him crawl painfully off the soft mattress he was lying upon, so that he could retch. There was nothing in his stomach to eject and he vomited an odious mixture of blood and bile. His mind remembered a second later; surfacing memories he wanted no part of. She was not Mary Travis Larabee that did this to him. What she had done had made the association impossible. Even if he found himself standing before Mary now; he could no more harm her than he could Julia Pemberton. However, if he found himself before the creature who made him endure the hell that reduced him to this, there would be nothing on Earth that would keep him from killing her with his bare hands.

He had endured much in his life, some things, which he would admit to no one, not even Julia who knew his secrets and his heart. Things he told no one and would not even admit to himself. Maude made his life one struggle after another and Lord only knew the things he had done to save her from herself, some he had not dared to tell her. Humiliation was something he endured since his childhood. Ezra had become so accustomed to it, it was almost an old friend. He tolerated all kinds of evils and buried the effect behind a veneer of southern charm that was like a magic cloak, protecting him from all things terrible. Until now.

Never in his life did he want vengeance so badly. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted to make her scream and tear her apart with his hands. Not just her, but the other one, whose torture was far more inhumane than that of physical pain. Thanks to Isis, he had become a rutting animal, required to perform for its meals. He had endured much in his life and swallowed his pride, because some things simply had to be but not this. There would be no satisfying his rage in this matter.

He required retribution.

He was kneeling on the floor, still coughing blood when he heard footsteps approaching behind him. The guard assigned to keep him imprisoned in this gilded cage of soft pillows and silken sheets was attracted by his noises and now came forward. Ezra tensed and collected himself. He did not need to see his reflection to know he was possibly dying from the wounds inflicted on him. He could smell the stench of it on his skin and knowing that there was an end in sight made it all the more easier to act.

The guard spoke and the voice was female, like they were all female in this place. He did not answer and continue to remain on his knees, bleeding and feigning weakness. His adrenalin was coursing through his veins, dulling the pain that burned through him because she had him facing the wall, bound and helpless before she tore through his insides, laughing as she stripped his manhood from him and revelled in the scream she tore from his lips. The memory of that tearing pain, the feel of warm blood running down his thighs made Ezra double over again and he retched once more.

God, he was going to kill her. If it was the last fucking thing he got to do in this life, he was going to kill her!

The guard spoke again, standing above him now, concern filtering into her voice, possibly because she understood how important he was to the Goddess of All. Ezra’s rage would have even astonished Chris Larabee who until now had the monopoly on homicidal fury. It was a serpent inside him, coiled and waiting release. He could hear the guard directly behind him, urging him to tell her what could be done for him even though Ezra had no idea what she was saying. He could read the voice, like he could read the faces of opponents in a card game.

Without warning, he kicked out his foot, striking her knee hard. She let out a cry of pain, swinging the staff weapon in her hand as she went down. He was on his feet faster than she and grabbed the length of the weapon and yanked it away with one forceful pull. She tried to call for help but there was no time, Ezra brought his foot down on her chest, driving the air from her lungs and killing any sound that might have tried to escape. Swinging the weapon in his grip, Ezra’s hands moved so fast, he never even stop to consider when he had paid such careful attention that he knew how to handle it. The barrel was aimed in her direction before he was conscious of the fact that he had swung the staff weapon over swiftly and he had even less cognisance when he killed her.

The guard died quickly and that was all the thought Ezra gave her as he hobbled over her body, the weapon brandished as he limped towards the door, preparing to kill anything that came in his way if they tried to stop him. He had no idea he was trailing blood as he moved. He had no idea his mind had crossed a threshold of blood lust that would not end its frenzied desire for vengeance until he killed the thing inside Mary Larabee and freed her.

Because no one deserved to be trapped in the same body with an insane killer.

* * *

"What the hell is going on in there?" Jack O’Neill found himself asking, the closer they approached the source of all the commotion. The combination of fire power from the Goa’uld ribbon device and the staff weapon being fired was resonating through the walls of the structure so fiercely that he could not put his hands against any surface without feeling the shudder of violence. An epic battle was being waged and Jack became more curious to find out what was behind it, the nearer they approached its centre.

They reached the end of the corridor and found it emptying into a large chamber, which Jack held back on approaching until he knew what was happening. As he peered over the turn of the corridor, he discovered that the majority of Jaffa were concentrated on what was taking place in the wide room below. They were anxiously watching as two women engaged in what appeared to be a battle to the death. It did not take him long to realise that the two combatants were clearly Goa’uld since none of the Jaffa dared to interfere in the savage tournament. The room which served as their battle ground was covered in wreckage and Jack felt his stomach hollow when he realised that buried among the rubble were bodies. He could see a hand protruding from a pile of debris.

"Is that your wife?" Jack prompted Chris to the edge and the gunslinger immediately poked his head past the corner to see if Jack had indeed found Mary.

Chris wasted no time searching through the pandemonium in the room to find who he sought. It did not take him long to find her. She stood in the middle of the room, amidst the destruction wrought by the fierce battle being waged between herself and Isis, looking nothing like Mary Travis Larabee, even though she wore his wife’s face. The creature before him was almost feral in its savagery, teeth bared, splattered smears of blood covering her skin he was certain was not her own. She was fighting with a staff weapon, her blond hair hanging loose against her skin, appearing like a banshee wailing a dirge in the night.

Her attention was focussed mostly on her opponent and what Chris saw in her blue grey eyes was killer madness. He had seen rabid animals with the same look and it made him shudder to know that such insanity possessed his wife’s body. Isis on the other hand, was a picture of calm and Chris found himself wondering how much of that was Alex. The woman Daniel Jackson referred to as the Goddess of All was not all in the same state of frenzy Sekhmet was currently displaying. If anything she was a cool contrast to the unrestrained madness that was the Warrior Goddess.

"Jesus," Chris whispered as he saw Sekhmet firing the staff weapon, sending a volley of blasts at Isis who used the ribbon device to block the shots. He could almost see the invisible wall of energy deflecting the deadly bolt, as easily as bullets ricocheting away from steel. The blast impacted against the wall, striking one Jaffa guard who was standing too close and forcing the others back. Sekhmet did not give Isis any time to breathe, renewing her attack with just as much vigour, oblivious to the fact she could not get through the invisible shielding Isis erected around herself thanks to the odd weapon coiled around her wrist.

"We’ve got to stop them." He said hastily retreating back to the others. "They’re going to kill each other."

"Is Alex out there?" Vin asked quickly and immediately tried to get past them when Jack tugged him back into place.

"Just hold it a minute." The colonel hissed with enough command in his voice to ensure that young man obeyed. "Did you see how many Jaffa they got with them?" Jack inquired since he had not the chance to make a clear observation before he had summoned Chris to identify his wife.

"At least nine." Chris estimated, making a quick mental calculation. So far, they had maintained their anonymity, however, that would end the moment they stepped out from behind this corner to retrieve Mary and Alex.

"Nine." Jack considered quickly and raised his eyes to Sam. "You think you can do what you did earlier with that thing again?" He referred to her use of the Gao’uld ribbon device when they had previously encountered the Jaffa guards in the woods.

"I think so," Sam nodded anxiously, not liking to use the weapon but knowing it would serve much more effectively than their guns at this moment.

"What’s your plan Jack?" Daniel asked and did not need an answer when he saw Jack removing a few grenades from his belt. "Oh." He said shortly.

"Oh?" Vin retorted. "What’s oh mean?" He asked, wishing someone would explain to him what was going on. At the moment, he was fighting to restrain himself from running out there and confronting Alex. Like Chris, he felt they needed to do something before Mary and Alex slipped out of their reach again.

"Oh means, we ought to step back a little." Daniel answered, retreating further along the wall and gestured at the two lawmen to follow.

Something in the scholar’s manner indicated to Chris neither Vin or he should argue as they left Sam and Jack behind at the edge of the wall. If there was one thing the gunslinger had learnt by now, they were so far over their heads with what had transpired in the last two days that it was wise to let someone with the know how to take the lead occasionally. Jack O’Neill appeared to know what he was doing. As much as Chris found it difficult to rely on anyone when it came to Mary’s safety, he knew he had to swallow his pride and accept the help because he simply did not have the knowledge to save her on his own.

Jack nodded in Sam’s direction, preparing to throw the grenades into the thickest part of the Jaffa group as she took a deep breath and readied herself to use the ribbon device once more. He could see the apprehension in her lovely face and wished it were not so that their only course of action was to utilise her experience as a Goa’uld host to fight the enemy that they had been responsible for unleashing upon a galaxy. Since her blending, as the Tokra liked to call it, more and more latent Goa’uld abilities had been manifesting itself in Sam Carter. She was becoming quite adept at using their technology even though he knew secretly, it frightened her.

"You ready?" He asked.

"As I’ll ever be." She nodded and prompted him to begin.

With all the noise and pandemonium currently taking place in the next room, the grenades Jack threw in the direction of the Jaffa went virtually unnoticed except by the guards nearest to the objects when they clattered across the floor. Those who did notice did not immediately recognise the devices before them, since none of these Jaffa had ever ecnountered the Tau’Ri or have any knowledge of their weapons. Unfortunately, they did not have time to place the grenades under deep scrutiny before the explosives detonated.

The roar of multiple grenade explosions rocked the halls of the building even more violently then the battle of Goa’ulds in the chamber. Jack did not wait to see the effects of his handiwork, emerging at the same time with Sam and firing their zat guns at the remaining Jaffar who had now realised that their fortress had been breached while they had been spectators to the battle. At least four or five Jaffa went down with that initial blast. With the onslaught of zat guns carried by the two intruders, soon to be joined by three others, carrying the same and an alien weapon that tore through their bodies in a hail of erupting noise, very soon all the Jaffa lay in a messy heap of bodies. 

Isis and Sekhmet stopped fighting immediately, realising a new threat had suddenly presented itself. Isis scanned the room and discovered that there were no Jaffa standing between themselves and the intruders, none that she could see over the rising smoke left in the wake of the grenade blasts.

"JAFFA!" She roared in Goa’uld tongue. "KREE!"

"They’re dead!" Sekhmet shouted, both Goa’uld forgetting their previous altercation as the enemy who had killed their guards, approached them cautiously.

Sekhmet recognised the stranger in black almost immediately and found a smile curling her lips as she realised it was the mate of her host body. She felt her pulse quicken at the thought of having him in her clutches even though it was a mystery to her how his primitive mind had unravelled the secrets of the gate enough to follow them here. All she cared about as her eyes met his, was the pleasure to be had as she broke him into a thousand pieces as she had done his friend.

Chris saw Sekhmet’s gaze fixed on him and dared to hope perhaps there was something in her who knew who he was. That thought lasted just about as long as it took for her to aim the staff weapon at him and start firing. She was deadly accurate with the weapon and the marble floor spit debris and flying shards of jagged rock as he and Jack ran for cover. Jack fired the zat gun at her but Sekhmet side stepped it easily, allowing the surge of energy to bounce harmlessly against the wall. It took Chris a moment to recover before realising she had every intention of killing the colonel unless he helped the man, when suddenly Jack O’Neill was swept off his feet and slammed painfully into a column.

"Colonel!" Samantha Carter cried out as Jack groaned in pain as he slid to the floor.

The attack had come from Isis who had now turned her attention to the interlopers who posed far more danger than Sekhmet and her staff weapon. As Sam, Vin and Daniel attempted to deal with the Goddess of All, Chris made his way towards Jack, who had not moved. Judging by the grimace on his face and the way he was holding his side, Chris guessed immediately that he had probably broken ribs. Certainly he had been thrown hard enough to warrant such injuries.

"Jack," Chris leaned over him and tried to examine the injury. "You need to get on your feet. We can’t protect you here."

"No kidding!" Jack swore loudly when his eyes travelled past Chris and shoved the gunslinger down as he ducked for cover himself. "Get down!"

Chris did not need to ask when there was an explosion of rock and marble over their heads as a sizeable chunk of wall crumbled around their ears from the blast of a staff weapon. Sekhmet was approaching fast, preparing to kill them both when Chris reflexively fired his own zat gun at the woman who was his wife. Once again, she was able to avoid the shot with her lightning reflexes and Chris told himself he was going to have to stop underestimating her if he was to have any chance of bringing Mary back home. He fired continuously, laying down a wall of energy that drove her back, allowing Jack a chance to recover. She was almost pushed to the far end of the room before Chris immediately turned his attention to the colonel and proceeded to drag the man down the corridor.

"I’m fine!" Jack grumbled, disliking the assistance.

"Now I know what Nathan puts up with." Chris retorted as he pulled Jack to safety. "I ain’t got time for this. Quit arguing."

"Listen to me," Jack grunted as he felt the sharp pain of broken ribs. "When you go after her, she’ll try anything to get to you. Sometimes, they even used the host itself."

"What does that mean?" Chris snapped, since that made little sense to him.

"You’ll hear Mary and you’ll think its Mary but it won’t be! It will be just a trick. You want your wife back, you put her down and you do it fast. No mercy Larabee, no mercy!" Jack pulled at his duster and made sure that Chris knew how serious he was about it.

Chris nodded quickly understanding what was said to him before replying quietly. "Don’t stay here too long. With all this noise, we’re gonna bring the whole place down on us." Chris warned before retreating up the way he came. He cast a brief glance at Daniel, Sam and Vin, seeing them embroiled in troubles of their own as they attempted to subdue Isis, who was proving to be a formidable match for all of them. Chris hoped they could carry their end of the plan as he searched for Sekhmet and saw her withdrawing into another room, almost as if she wanted him to follow.

Trap or not, he had no choice but to do it.

* * *

"We killed you!" Isis shouted, glaring at Vin Tanner in astonishment, unable to believe how he was standing before her when she had killed him back on the Tau’Ri world. She had made a point of doing so after he had the audacity to assume that she was his mate.

"We revived him." Daniel said quickly before any more on the subject was revealed. They had not wished to let Vin know he died at her hands because explaining to him he had been brought back to life might have been too much for any man to know about himself, especially when it was his fiancee who killed him. "We have no wish to harm you but we need the body you have taken."

She looked at Daniel incredulously as if he had said something highly amusing and started to laugh. "You must be joking. Do you think us a fool. This body is ours. We will kill you for your insolence!" Her eyes flashed with rage and she raised her hand to attack when Sam quickly stepped in front of Daniel, aware of what was coming in his direction. Vin was still uncertain about firing as the amber jewel poured its lethal energy in Sam’s direction. The beam of light caught her in the centre of the forehead, immediately driving the woman to her feet as Isis closed in.

Vin had no idea what she was doing but judging by the pain etched in Sam’s face, he knew he had to do something. His own weapon would cause Alex permanent injury and so he thought quickly, running forward and slamming his entire body weight into her, freeing Sam who drop to her hands gasping in pain. Isis reacted swiftly as they both scrambled on the floor. Vin saw her momentarily disorientated and immediately climbed on top of her, trapping her body beneath his own as he grabbed the hand wearing the ribbon device and pressed it to the floor.

"We will destroy you for this!" She bellowed in rage, her eyes glowing with unearthly light as she struggled.

"Not before I destroy you first!" Vin found himself saying trying to harden his heart and telling himself repeatedly it was not the woman he loved before him but the vicious creature who had stolen her body and for that matter her soul. "Alex, I know you can hear me. We’re going to get her out of you Alex, I promise!"

"Vin, get away from her!" Daniel ordered immediately, scrambling forward once he had ensured Sam was alright. The linguist had produced a zat gun and could not make the shot until Vin had moved out of the way. While it might look to the tracker that he had the momentary advantage, Daniel knew better. The Goa’uld may be restrained but it did not require her limbs to make the ribbon device work.

The warning came too late and Vin found himself thrown off her violently, propelled backwards before he even had a chance to realise she activated the weapon. He crashed into some broken furniture with great force, sending debris into the air with his hard landing. Broken wood dug into his skin but thankfully, the heavy buckskins he was wearing had saved him from any severe lacerations. Although he was hurt, he was nowhere injured and he was on his feet in time to see Daniel fire the zat gun.

Alex’s scream tore through the air.

Vin reacted to the sound of her voice more sharply than anything else that happened. He scrambled across the debris, praying to god that she was not responsible for the tortured bodies he was seeing scattered around the place. He saw Alex on the floor, struggling with the intense pain caused by the weapon as Daniel moved towards her.

"Hurry," he looked at Vin. "We don’t have much time. This won’t last long."

Vin nodded mutely and continued closing the distance between her, far more rapidly than Daniel was capable. He glanced at Sam to see if she was alright and flinched when he saw a rivulet of blood running down her nose as she recovered from Isis’s attack. When he was near enough for her to see him, Isis’s eyes widened in shock but the voice that came from her lips did not belong to a stranger.

"Oh God Vin!" Alexandra Styles gasped in pain and relief as she saw him standing before him. "Oh God you’re alive! I’m sorry! I couldn’t stop her! I couldn’t stop her from doing everything!" She wailed in absolute sorrow.

For a minute, Vin did not know what to do but felt his own relief flood into his soul as he heard her voice. "Alex?" He stammered. "Is that you darling?" He could almost feel tears starting to form in his eyes as he looked into her face and saw that it was his Alex staring at him, weeping in coherentl

"You don’t have time for this!" Daniel ordered, reaching for her wrist to remove the ribbon device. "She’s only back because the Goa’uld doesn’t like the pain. The minute it wears off, Isis will assume control of her again."

He had no sooner said those words when Vin saw Alex’s eyes glowing again and whatever she was trying to say to him withered away in the bellowing tirade of Isis’s enraged voice. "We will make you beg for death for this insult!" The ribbon device glowed and a powerful surge of energy swatted both men away like disobedient children. Daniel landed on his back, feeling the impact against his body shudder through his bones as he made abrupt contact with the marble floor. His skull hit the floor hard and Daniel felt his head swim with the disorientation of the abrupt stop.

Vin felt his body flare with pain again after another forcefu landing and swore under breath, knowing that it could not take much more of this pounding. He staggered to his feet just in time to see Isis rolling onto her knees about to rise. She looked at him with eyes narrowed, preparing to attack when Sam finally entered the fray and placed herself between them in order to protect him from further retaliation by the Goa’uld queen.

Sam did not know whether she was any match for Isis but she was determined not to let this go any further. She had heard the terrified voice of Alexandra Styles crying out a few seconds ago and remembered most acutely how it felt to be similarly trapped in that hell. Without offering any warning, she concentrated hard and felt the ribbon device coming to life once again. It manifested itself like an insistent tug in the centre of her being that required the crystal in the device to channel its energy outward.

With the same powershe had used a moment ago to dispatch the two men who attempted to steal her host body, Isis was thrown backward as the force of energy delivered by Sam swept her off her feet. She let out a startled cry as she landed in the thick of Jaffa bodies, unhurt but full of indignant fury at being caught at her own game. The look in her eyes as she stood up to face Sam again and return the assault was enough to send chills of fear running down his spine as Vin Tanner was forced to witness her murderous rage. Suddenly, unable to fathom how he could possibly know but aware only that he did, Vin knew that Sam was not going to be able to stand up to the assault.

What came next was purely intuition and he hoped he was not wrong and Alex could forgive him when it was all said and done. Pulling out the knife he had secreted in his boot, Vin watched Isis raising her hand preparing to use her weapon against Sam and knew he had less than a fraction of a second to act. He did not know if he could be that accurate with a knife but he supposed now was a good time as any to find out. The Bowie knife twirled as it flew across the air before striking Isis in the centre of her palm, penetrating the gem and surging forward until it sliced through flesh with its tip emerging from the other side of her hand.

Isis let out a high pitch scream of agony as she doubled over in pain, clutching her hand as the blood started to run down her forearm. Vin’s stomach hollowed as the sight of her in pain and then reminded himself most acutely of what Jack told he and Chris about remembering the creatures in possession of Mary and Alex were not the women they knew. Isis glared at him, defenceless now her only means of fighting back was destroyed and her Jaffa guards were either dead or absent. Vin saw her eyes studying the situation, evaluating the danger to herself and knew instantly what she was going to run.

He crossed the space between them and caught her in a full body tackle, throwing her on the floor before she could make any attempt to escape, perfectly aware that if she became lost in this labyrinth, they would never find her again. Vin had no idea whether or not she had the chance to create new guards but Vin did not intend to find out. His knife was still embedded in the centre of her palm, blood had stained her arm and she struggled beneath him like a hellcat. Her unharmed hand dug into his neck, nails raking across his skin with such force that it drew blood.

"Release us immediately!" She demanded, her glare blazing with white heat beneath her eyes. It made Vin shudder just seeing her this way and he ignored all the feelings he had about her and any misconception he had she could be reasoned with.

"Help me!" Vin shouted as Daniel and Sam approached him on either side. Vin kept his weight under Isis and struggled to remain straddled over her as she fought him with near superhuman strength. Her teeth were bared like she was an animal and he had no doubt if the device on her hand was working, she would have killed him already.

Sam reached him first and immediately clutched Isis’s bleeding hand. She had put away her own ribbon device, not wishing Isis to exert control over it. Daniel was standing over them, keeping an eye out for Jaffa guards but it appeared that none were forthcoming and guessed Isis had not the opportunity to implant new hosts for her Jaffa army with all the conflict she had been struggling with Sekhmet when they had arrived. As Sam removed the bloodied ribbon device from her hand and tossed it away, he quickly found something to tie the infuriated Goa’uld who presently required all the strength Vin could muster to keep her from breaking free.

"Let us go!" Isis demanded again. "You will pay for this outrage when we have you skinned alive!"

Vin’s patience was getting the better of him and he knew they could not drag her back to the gate in this condition. Taking a deep breath, he held her struggling face in his hands and leaned down close to kiss her. As his mouth met hers, he felt her pause in his grip as the warmth of his lips melted over her own and for a very brief moment, he could have been mistaken for believing she was his Alex again. He heard Sam demanding what the hell he was doing when he broke away and met Isis’s surprised gaze.

"Sorry Alex," he said with a sigh. "But I’m doing this for your own good." Without further delay, he threw the hardest punch he could deliver, striking her against the jaw. Her head snapped back and she went limp in his arms, her struggles ending just as abruptly. No one spoke for a few seconds and Sam examined Isis’s pupils, ensuring that she was not playing the part to trick them into letting down their guard.

"She’s out cold." Sam looked up at him.

"That’s one way to do it." Daniel commented, producing a length of silken cord used to hold some curtains together.

"I suppose," Vin drawled climbing off Alex’s unconscious form as Sam proceeded to tie her up. As he looked around the room and saw neither sign of Jack and Chris, he hoped subduing Mary was not going to be as exhausting as this.

* * *

Chris saw Mary running down a length of corridor, leading away from the others and fell into  pursuit, once he knew Jack was safe and able to fend for himself by the time they had company. As he ran after the Goa’uld in possession of his wife’s body, Chris kept in mind that she was leading him away from the others into a possible trap. However, he recanted on this thought when he realised that she had been given no warning of their arrival and most likely had another reason for this separation. It had not escaped his attention that the room they had just left was filled with broken bodies that were not simply of the Jaffa they had killed to reach Sekhmet and Isis. Chris had this terrible premonition that somehow, Sekhmet was responsible for the carnage. Everything Daniel Jackson had told him seemed to indicate that the beast in control of Mary was a sadistic murderer.

The corridor was strangely silent as he ran down its length, with only the sound of his footsteps against the marble floor. He could not hear her any more and that gave him reason for concern. He had seen her come up this way and knew she was close, probably watching him now as he made his approach. He knew just how stealthy she could be when she had blind sided him in the cavern prior to her escape into this strange world. The zat gun as Jack O’Neill called it, remained tucked in his belt and if it was not for the fact that Chris had been shot with it, he would not have placed much faith in the weapon in subduing Mary.

Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from one of the door and Chris instinctively guessed that it was made on purpose, with the expressed intention of luring him into the room. Reaching for the zat gun, he held it firmly in his grip as he walked through the doorway. The first thing that greeted him upon entry was a series of blasts from a staff weapon. The resounding burst of energy followed him as he ran across the length of the room, barely a fraction of a step ahead of its lethal blasts. Finally, he had no choice but to leap towards the bed that sat in the centre of the room and rolled across the soft mattress to the other side. He landed on his knees and instinctively fired without even seeing where she was, relying upon something far more intuitive than sight.

Chris did not hit her. He had not expected to. However, the shot from the zat gun impacted very near her and she was forced to leap out of the way with as much fear for life as he had done a moment ago. She feared not the pain but the immobilisation the weapon would produce upon her body and Sekhmet was unprepared to be helpless in his ministrations. Chris did not give her time to recover; moving across the room with more speed than he ever thought himself possible of having and kicked high, just inches from her face. The staff weapon was torn from her grip and went flying. She made a wild dash to retrieve it but he stopped her in her tracks with a secondary shot of warning from the zat gun. The energy beam struck the marble floor near her and while it did not crack as spectacularly as it had done when fired upon by a staff weapon, the black of charred marble marred the polish of the floor.

"Stay where you are!" Chris ordered and she froze in place, glaring at him from the floor while resting on her haunches. For a moment, she looked so savage, he wondered if she could even understand him.

"Or what?" She asked in a low voice, her face twisted into an expression of derision as she looked at him. "You’ll shoot me?"

"I’ll shoot you." Chris swallowed, unable to picture that ugly mask of hatred bearing the same features of his wife.

"You couldn’t shoot me, even if you tried." She sneered and rose to her feet, slowly. Her spine straightening at each joint, her shoulders curling back as she stood upright and reminded Chris of a cat stretching itself languidly while enjoying the heat of the afternoon sun. There was power in her movements, the power of a sleek animal, seductive and utterly terrifying.

"Don’t try me." Chris replied, knowing he sounded less sure as she met his gaze. The menace drained from her face even though the intense look of hunger remained. She shook her head, tousling her golden hair and allowing to frame her face with loose strands that made him very aware of her. Her lips curled into a smile and suddenly, Chris was aware that the game was changing.

"I would like to try you." She whispered with a smile. "My host wishes the joining," she sauntered to the bed and sat down. Chris knew he should have pulled the trigger on this strange weapon but he could only follow her as she moved across the room.

"No she doesn’t," he shook his head. " She’s trapped inside you, locked in hell."

"Hell?" She started to laugh. "Is that what you think?" She rose to her feet again, deciding she would be unable to lure him into the sheets with her. "I have given her spirit a freedom she never knew. With me in her mind and her body, I have made her a god. What have you done for her?" She accused, taking one step towards him, even though the zat gun was still aimed firmly in her direction. "You have chained her with sentiment, presume to lord over her as if you were her master and worst of all, you have reduced her to nothing more than a receptacle for your seed! Which of us do you think is most guilty!" Without another word, she swung around in a flurry of movement that Chris barely had time to register, let alone defend against. The kick was aimed directly at the zat gun and upon contact, the weapon went flying.

Instead of continuing her attack, she paused and gave him a little smile as they stood before each other unarmed. "You’ll never get her back." Sekhmet sneered. "I would rather kill myself in this body and take her with me before I ever return her to you."

The smug satisfaction in which she delivered this statement snapped whatever restrained Chris had been maintaining she was his wife. She was not his wife. Mary was somewhere else, locked in a dungeon to which this creature had the only key. God help him, if it meant he had to go through her to free Mary then that was how it was going to be. All this time, she had been on the offensive, penetrating his own lines of defence because she was using his heart against him. Sekhmet knew while he wanted Mary back, he would always hold back and that gave her an advantage he could no longer afford to allow.

_I’m sorry Mary._

Chris lunged at her, bringing her down on the hard floor with a full body tackle that gave her neither time to react or retaliate. They both tumbled to the floor together and Chris grabbed her hands before she had time to fight back. He pinned her body down with his weight but her strength was stronger than he expected and her fist struck his jaw in her attempt to dislodge him from his position on top of her. Chris returned the blow in kind, feeling a dozen kinds of uncertainty as he saw her head snap back from his punch. She did not waste time in responding, bringing her knees up and slamming it into his back, propelling him forward as she twisted hard and threw him off her.

Chris rolled easily and was back on his feet in time to see her trying to plant her foot in his face. He grabbed her calf and put all his strength into twisting the leg viciously around. She let out a squeal of pain as she fairly twirled in mid air before slamming onto the floor once again, landing hard on her belly. He was on top of her before she even landed, forcing her to stay down as he grabbed her hands and tried pinning them to her back with one hand as he fumbled for the belt around his pants.

"You are enjoying this." She said with a smile.

"What?" Chris exclaimed with distaste.

"This is how you took her the first time, did you not?" She sneered, her voice dripping with suggestion and accusation. "You like hurting her. You enjoy it. The enjoyment gave you pleasure, made you slip past all those secret fears. You only had the courage to take her after you hurt her."

"Shut up." Chris said finally, deciding he did not need to hear this. She was just trying to bait him, trying to shake his resolve and give her an opening to escape.

"Hurt me," she said sweetly. "I like the pain." She tried to turn her head to look at him but she could not quite manage it. "You can hurt me as much as you like and then you can take me. I promise you pleasure beyond your imagining. We are more a like than the whimpering mind inside here with me. Release me and I will make you my Pharaoh. You cannot imagine what glory is to be had by being in service to one of us. I can show you the universe and an infinity of pleasure and pain. All you have to do is let me go."

Chris barely heard her. He refused to. Instead he concentrated on securing his belt around her wrists, determined to ignore her words of seduction and knew it was an act of desperation, since she was probably feeling fear as her captivity became more and more apparent. "I said shut up." He repeated himself and leaned forward as he held her down with his body while attempting to tighten the notches in the leather so that there was no possibility of her escape. "I don’t want you," he hissed angrily. "I want my wife!"

"You’ll never get her!" Sekhmet snapped and threw her head back, slamming her head back into his chin and causing enough pain for Chris to recoil backwards and relinquish his hold on her hands. As he felt blood ooze from a split lip, she twisted once again, throwing him off her body. No sooner than she was free of him, Sekhmet was on her feet and turning back towards him, throwing a forward kick that landed squarely in his chest. Chris staggered backwards for a step or two and then promptly recovered and decided enough was enough.

She wanted to play rough? Fine, he could do rough.

She attacked again, using her legs as effectively as some men used their fists. Throwing a side kick, Chris whose reflexes were just as fast, possibly faster, grabbed her leg and pulled her forward. Unable to maintain her balance with one foot only, she could not resist as he dragged her close enough to reach and then he swung hard, striking the slender bone of jaw. He felt it crumple immediately under his fist and felt bone shatter. She did not cry out but he did see her face etched in pain. There was still a lot of fight left in her, even though he was certain  he had broken her jaw when he had hit her. He had to keep telling himself that she was not his wife, that to save Mary he would have to hurt Sekhmet.

Her efforts to disengage herself from him became more desperate and she struggled even harder, dropping her free leg to her knees and pulling him down with her in the abrupt descent. Chris lost his grip momentarily as they both neared the floor and she used the distraction to kick him in the stomach in a blow he was ill prepared to receive. The ball of her foot drove into his gut and Chris felt intense pain and was certain he would have a bruise to remember. She attempted to get to her feet again but this time he was ready for her and kicked his own foot into the side of her knee. She screamed and fell face front, her skull making a fair whack against the hard floor.

Chris was on his fours and scrambling towards her, determined not to let her get away even though she had not recovered enough to do so. The fall she had just taken was fairly severe and he could tell she was still disorientated and unable to attack. Without even thinking, he climbed on top of her again, determined to tighten the belt around her hands and carry her out of here if that was what was required. When his skin made contact with hers, she spoke suddenly.

"Chris." She whispered.

It was not the voice of the Goa’uld.

He immediately climbed off her and turned her over so that she could face him. A terrible dark bruise was forming on her forehead where her head had made contact with the marble floor and her lower jaw was starting to twist out of shape with discolouration where he had hit her. Her teeth was red with blood and a thick rivulet was running down the corner of her mouth. She looked at him without flashing eyes and her expression softened as her gaze met his.

"Chris." Tears started to fill her blue-grey eyes.

"Mary…" he dared  to ask.

"You hurt me." She whimpered. "Why?"

Chris closed his eyes to drive away the pain he felt at having to answer. "I have to Mary, I have to hurt you to get that thing out of your body." He looked at her face and saw his wife, feeling white hot shards of pain penetrating his soul at the injuries on her lovely face.

"Please let me go Chris," she begged. "I’m myself now. She’s gone. I can’t feel her inside me."

Chris wanted to believe that more than anything else in the world but he knew she was lying. He remembered what Jack told him, that in desperation Sekhmet would use any cruel trick to gain the advantage. Chris looked into her eyes and told himself again this was Sekhmet using his love for Mary to lull him into a false hope that Mary was with him again.

"She’s still there." He whispered trying not to let the pain get to him. He wanted so much to believe it was Mary speaking to him but he knew better. He knew it without even having to hear Jack O’Neill’s reminder in his ears. He had seen what she had done to those poor souls in that other chamber and knew that there were no limits to Sekhmet’s murderous bloodlust or her treachery. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Chris wondered briefly why he would do this when it was not Mary, blaming it on an emotion he did not wish to deal with now and crushed it ruthlessly back into place before he returned her gaze with angry hatred.

"I know you’re still there!" He shouted after a moment.

Her eyes glowed and Sekhmet spat at him, her spittle striking his cheek as she glared at him in unmasked hatred. "I will never let her go! I will kill her before I allow you to have her back!"

Chris said nothing and withdrew instead, sinking his hand into her hair as he hauled her to her feet. Sekhmet had no choice but to follow the painful tug of her hair as he dragged her upright and held her face inches away from his as he wiped the saliva from his skin. She stared into his eyes and saw something dark and terrifying, almost as black as the depths in her own eyes when she looked at herself in the mirror.

Chris stared at her and whispered softly. "You stupid bitch. You have no idea about anything do you?" He sneered, feeling the power shift back to him. "You think I would let you live inside her? Even if I can’t have her back, you think I would let you live? If Mary is gone, if I’ve lost her, do you think wearing her face is going to keep me from tearing you out of her? I’ve done worst things than kill you and if it means that she’ll be free, I will enjoy every minute of slicing her open so I can roast you over an open fire! You like pain don’t you?" He hissed in her ear, his own voice taking a husky tone of seduction that made his words all the more venomous. "If I can’t have Mary back, you’ll have pain and more, I promise you that."

With that, he struck her with a backhanded blow that sent her reeling, determined for her to understand her position. Sekhmet was knocked off her feet from the force of that powerful delivery and she glared at him viciously as a fresh bruise appeared on her pale skin. She bore her teeth and hissed at him, seeming as feral as her actions indicated as she tried to pick herself up. Chris searched for the zat gun and retrieved it from its position at the end of the room, never taking his eyes off Sekhmet as he did so, in case she had in her mind to offer him any difficulty.

"You would not kill me." She declared. However, this time she did not sound so certain as her eyes followed him across the room and then back towards her again. "I am the Eye of Ra. I am a god!" She shouted, more determined to convince herself than him, Chris thought.

Chris turned the zat gun on her and pulled his lips back in a humourless smile. "You’re insane." He said and then pulled the trigger.

He watched dispassionately as she writhed in agony, just as helpless in the grip of the energy creating waves and waves of relenting pain through her body. She tumbled to the floor unable to stand as tendrils of the weapon’s power dissipated over her flesh. Chris knew he had crossed the threshold now, he now possessed the will to make good on his threat to kill her if it appeared that Mary was indeed lost to him. He leaned over to help her to her feet when suddenly he saw her open her eyes and look directly at him. Chris wondered what barbs she was now going to use to provoke his anger.

"Chris." She swallowed thickly, trying to dispel the intense pain of the zat gun.

Chris did not answer her but continued to pull her to her feet.

"Is Billy safe?"

Chris blinked and turned sharply to her. "Mary?"

"Tell me I didn’t hurt my baby!" She wept softly and suddenly, Chris realised it was Mary talking to him.

"No," his voice escaped him in a strangled whisper. "Billy is safe. I didn’t let her hurt him."

The relief in her eyes showed.

"I can feel her coming Chris," Mary closed her eyes and tears ran down her cheeks. "I don’t know how long I can fight her. I just have to say…" she ground her teeth as if struggling to keep the demon at bay, even for a precious few seconds. "You were right." She gasped. "I don’t want to live like this. If you can’t help me Chris, kill me. You don’t know what she is capable of doing. I can’t remember all of it but I know we can’t let her live, do you hear me?" She started to cry harder. "I love you Chris," she gasped, feeling whatever semblance that was her slipping away as Sekhmet bore down on her. "Do what is right, save me if you can, but let me go it you can’t."

"Mary!" He cried out, pleading to keep her with him, even for a few seconds. "Mary!"

She did not answer but her eyes glowed.

"Let me go!" She roared, eyes illuminating with Sekhmet’s evil soul once again. "You’ll never get her back! I won’t let her go. She is in here with me and she will suffer with me!"

Chris closed his eyes, feeling unbelievable anguish inside his soul and wanting in that moment to drive his fist into Sekhmet’s face, just to wipe that smug satisfaction from her lips.

"Chris." Jack’s voice penetrated the chamber.

"In here." Chris called out, swallowing hard and composing himself before Jack found him. As he kept his grip on Sekhmet, he reached into his duster and removed a handkerchief which he immediately rolled into a ball and shoved down her throat. She snapped at his fingers as he made the effort but Chris ignored her attempts to do so or her indignant outrage as the handkerchief robbed her of the ability to inflict any further any verbal abuse.

"You got her." Jack said entering the room as Chris started to drag her out of it.

"Yeah," Chris answered quietly as Jack approached him and aided in handling Sekhmet’s violent struggles to break free.

"You okay?" Jack inquired, seeing the hollow expression in his eyes and not believing for a second he was anything close to fine.

"Yeah, I’m okay." Chris retorted shortly, not daring to look at Sekhmet as he spoke.

* * *

Ezra continued down the empty corridors, slowly but progressively, wondering why he had not sighted any of the new Jaffa to be created because he had cooperated with Isis and allowed her to use him. He felt a pain just as intensely as the massive injuries he incurred, when he thought that there was nothing he could do to free her and all that was left for him to do was to get out while he still could. Ezra had no idea how far he was going to get in his condition but he knew he was not prepared to die in this place as someone’s captive slave.

Ezra refused to think about Mary in these ruminations.

Although the hall ways were devoid of guards, he was prepared to kill any that came his way in any case. He hobbled painfully down the corridor, trailing blood in small but visible puddles of sickly moisture, oozing from from a dozen wounds. He wanted to lie down and rest but knew that his survival depended on him leaving this place immediately. Following his departure from the room he had been confined in, Ezra had wandered down through the corridors, trying to find a way out of this nightmarish place. It did not help that the fortress was like a giant maze and he could no more navigate through it then he could discern the layout of the building to make his escape.

He came across rooms that made no sense to him with equipment and machinery whose sophistication could not be doubted even if their purpose was undecipherable to him. He did see a few guards early on in his escape but they thinned out to none, the further he journeyed. Eventually, he realised that the loud roaring noises he heard throughout the structure might be responsible for his easy movement through the place. Ezra had no inclination to investigate what might be causing all the chaos, thinking only that it was to his advantage and he did not wish to know what was happening elsewhere when the only one he ought to be worried about was himself.

He had turned another corner when suddenly he heard the footsteps of a large number of people running down the corridor towards him. Ezra took a deep breath, feeling pain as he did so and searched frantically for a hiding place. He saw a door nearby and limped as quickly as he could towards it, biting down as the pain of the rapid movement coursed through him and nearly forced a cry of pain from his lips. By the time Ezra reached the doorway, he was straining to stay on his feet. Pushing himself through the entrance, he entered the room and found himself confused at its purpose.

If he did not know better, he would describe it to be a bathroom or something similar. In the centre of the room was an inground pool of black tile, the water inside churning and bubbling with life. It reminded Ezra of hot springs but the heat emanating from it was nowhere as warm. There were no wisps of steam rising from it and the room although humid in temperature, was not uncomfortable. There was nothing else in the room except this strange receptacle of water and for a moment, the gambler had no idea what he was seeing. Of course this was hardly surprising, everything he experienced in the past 24 hours was unbelievable as it was.

He took a step closer towards it, trying to understand what purpose it served as he stared at the churning water. As he neared the edge of it, he saw something beneath the bubbling surface. All thoughts of those he fled to escape, disappeared from his mind as Ezra sat down on the edge of the pool and looked into the water, at least he believed it to be water. Ezra knew this was foolishness.  He did not have time for this. He should be making sure the danger outside had passed before continuing his escape, not lingering here, increasing the possibility of recapture.

However, he could not pull himself away. Something was compelling him to investigate and he swallowed thickly at the dual sensation of yearning to know and dreading to find out. The gambler lowered his hand into the surface, deciding once and for all, he was going to discover if it was really water inside this bath. The temperature was warm as his fingers soaked up the moisture. It was not much above room temperature as he suspected but it was not water. Instead its constituency was thick and viscous, slimy to the touch and Ezra recoil at the feel of it against his fingertips. As he withdrew his hand, he saw it drip from his fingers and the only association he could make was the texture of a raw egg. The thought made his stomach heave and Ezra decided he had seen enough when something else caught his eye.

Something was beneath the surface.

Leaning in for a closer look, he squinted as he watched for what it was that made the sudden yet obscure movement capturing his attention for the briefest of instances. It took a few seconds before he saw it again and was certain something was swimming inside the noisome fluid. Despite his disgust, Ezra felt the same compulsion to know what it was and dipped his hand in once more, hoping to grasp what it was inhabiting the pool before him.

Ezra did not have long to wait. It swam past his hand and surfaced at the contact of skin. For a minute he clenched, determined to tear his hand away from it out of sheer terror but controlled his fear because it was overridden by the intense curiosity to know what it was that was swimming so languidly in this strange fluid. Ezra did not feel immediate danger even though his heart was pounding when he saw it suddenly emerged from the bubbling water. For a minute, he was uncertain of what he was seeing until more of it emerged and snaked up his palm, scenting his skin as if he was as much a mystery to it, as it was to him.

It looked like a skinless snake, pale and milky in its colouring with no eyes to speak of and a mouth that opened like a flower as it examined Ezra’s skin. Ezra felt tendrils of fear creeping up his spine at what the thing might be even though he had not withdrawn his hand. He had a premonition he was in no immediate danger but he sensed he was somewhere he should not be, somewhere he had no business seeing. The forbidden atmosphere of the place started to exude from the walls until it became as thick and palpable as the steam rising from this bath. It did not take him long to discover the creature, whatever it was, was not alone. There were others swimming in the churning water, so many he could not count them all.

He watched the one that touched his skin, feeling disgust at the clammy feel of it against his hand. Ezra was about to remove himself from this place and continue with the business of escape when suddenly, he noticed something. The creature was pressing against his skin, attempting to burrow into flesh but was not quite strong enough to manage it, let alone break skin. For a moment, Ezra was at a loss to explain why it would do this for it did not seem to be attempting to draw blood even though he was ripe for the feeding with his exposed skin. It was almost as if it were trying to get past his skin, trying to slip into flesh and get inside his body...

With a cold start he realised where he was.

The horror of the situation made him stumble back in nothing less than absolute disgust. He doubled over and started vomiting again, ejecting more blood and bile onto the smooth floor as the realisation gripped him and he almost screamed in denial. He understood at last he had just seen one of Isis’s children, the ones she would use to steal the souls of those helpless people in the dungeons. It was these monstrosities that took Mary and Alex, he was sure of it now, except those were adult versions and these things he had helped Isis create were her infants and…

 _Oh dear God_ , he realised as he started gasping at the sheer insanity of it.

These were her children and _his_.

He helped her create these _things_! Ezra could barely breathe as he staggered to his feet, telling himself hell must surely the place he found himself now. He looked into the pool and saw them swimming without any knowledge the contributor to their existence was now looking upon them and was about to go insane with the knowledge of what they were and his part in their birth. Every one of these things would steal the soul of some poor unfortunate as it had done to Alex and Mary. Ezra could not let that happen. He _refused_ to let it happen!

Picking up the staff weapon he dropped on the floor a few seconds ago, Ezra limped back to the pool and aimed the barrel of the weapon into the centre of the pool. He had no idea how much damage he could do in their liquid environment but he was sure as hell not allowing them to live long enough to steal someone else’s life away. He had no knowledge of the race spawning these creatures but Ezra knew one thing for certain, they were parasites that needed to be destroyed. As he aimed the weapon at them, he considered if he destroyed these things and he was recaptured, Isis would have him killed, no matter what she might have thought of him before.

Strangely enough, Ezra found he did not care.

Activating the trigger, he let loose one discharge of energy into the viscous depths and splattered fluid in all directions upon impact. The byre of the creatures was highly flammable for he did not need to fire a secondary shot. The first did its task quite effectively, igniting the entire surface of the pool and creating a wall of fire that sizzled and hissed as he watched it burn. Ezra knew he should be leaving but he found he needed to watch and heard the faint screech of the creatures dying, feeling some measure of satisfaction knowing he ended the threat he helped to create. Whatever pain she could inflict upon him was incidental now because Ezra would die with the satisfaction she would beget no more progeny from him.

The exertions of the past hour had weakened him considerably. Ezra dropped to his knees and then back onto his haunches as he watched the funeral pyre. The pain of numerous wounds had become so great that it hardly registered in his mind any longer. He could feel his legs starting to get cold and his body draining with life as the exhaustion took him. It soon became difficult to keep his eyes from remaining in a state of wakefulness as his eyelids became heavy. The staff weapon slipped from his fingers and clattered on the floor.

"Oh my God!"

Ezra heard a voice behind him exclaim as he was about to slip away into blackness and knew it was impossible. He was dreaming. That could no more be Buck Wilmington’s voice than it could be Julia Pemberton waking him up and telling him he was dreaming. Ezra refused to allow his mind be tricked by any more illusions, no matter how much he needed to believe it.

"Ezra!" Buck reached him first.

"Good Lord!" Nathan gasped as his eyes moved over the gambler and realised it was hard to make out his features from the battered bruising of his face and body. "What in God’s name happened to him?"

"Your friend is extremely ill." Teal’c replied, deciding now O’Neill’s request he be taken back immediately through to gate was now the only chance this man had of surviving the wound sinflicted on him. 

Ezra collapsed in Buck’s arms, covering the big man’s clothes in ugly smears of blood. The gambler did not seem to recognise the friends around him, even though when they had followed the trail of blood during their search, they had not believed they would find him or in this condition. Ezra was slipping in an out of consciousness, not really believing the voice he was hearing was real and therefore paid no attention to their questions.

"He’s been beaten within an inch of his life!" Nathan cried, glancing over the wounds and seeing dozens with fatal potential. "His bleeding internally in several places." The healer replied examining the discolouration of Ezra’s skin.

"Then we must get him back to Earth." Teal’c replied firmly.

"Forget that," Nathan protested. "I need to work on him _now_."

"No," Teal’c shook his head. "We must take him through the gate."

"I got you," JD said excitedly, latching onto what the stranger was trying to say. "If we can get him back to that thing we put Vin in, we can fix him up!"

"Your young friend is correct," the former Jaffa confirmed. "The sarcophagus is his only chance of survival now."

 


	8. Sumeria

Unlike Chris and Vin who were at this moment, wondering what had become of Isis’s Jaffa guards as they made their departure from the fortress relatively unaccosted, for Buck Wilmington and company the question held no mystery for them. It seemed that the entire Jaffa complement was converging on their location. Finding Ezra had really been serendipity for they had no idea where to begin when Chris set them the task of finding the gambler. Logically, they centred their search on where they speculated the cells would be located in the fortress and headed for it. They had expected to find Ezra trapped in one of its dungeons until JD spotted the first drops of blood along the corridor.

There were no tracks to find in this environment of straight lines, sterile perfection of smooth iron finish and marble floors, only the lingering traces of blood glistening under the cool lighting inside the corridors. It did not take them long to find the room and Ezra, confused and horrified by what they found upon laying their eyes on both. The pool in the centre of the room was ablaze. What it had contained was a mystery but they knew for certain, if anything lived within its fiery depths, that life remained no more. The stranger from the future seemed to have some idea, for he gazed at the fire in silent contemplation for a few seconds as the rest of the seven hovered around their injured comrade. Buck wanted to ask him what he thought but the question slipped away in light of Ezra’s condition.

Ezra himself offered no insight because he had slipped into feverish delirium by the time they reached him. Considering the nature of his injuries, it was best to all he remained in a state of unknowing, for looking at his swollen and broken flesh was enough to convince them he needed some respite from the pain. Yet, they heard him murmuring incoherently, surfacing words from his lips at random but could not fathom what he was seeing inside his mind. However, he did repeat one word more than any other.

 _Abomination_.

It made no sense to them and Buck had the strangest feeling when this was all over, Ezra would be reluctant to clarify anything for them. His injuries were deeper than mere wounds on his skin. One only needed to hear the sorrowful whimpering of his erudite voice in the throes of delirium to know the place he was could not be escaped, with scars that would remain forever. Unfortunately, Buck’s puzzlement did not alleviate their present situation. While Ezra was still suffering the personal demons inflicted by his experience here, his physical body was almost in as much danger.

The Jaffa guards who were so elusive during their initial penetration of the fortress had emerged in force and were now determined to keep them from leaving. They descended down the corridor almost immediately after they found Ezra, all armed with the strange devices they learned from the man named Teal’c to be staff weapons. Teal’c retrieved the one Ezra had used for his escape and managed to hold the guards back until they were able to leave the strange chamber.

The margin of escape allowing them to keep a few steps ahead of the Jaffa was slight and they hurried down the winding corridors, searching for the way out so they could return to the gate and finally reach home. Buck tried not to think about Chris and Vin, disliking the fact they had been forced to leave the gunslinger and the sharpshooter, even if it was at their own request. At the time, he did not understand their reasoning but with the Jaffa bearing down on them, it seemed logical they offered the guards more than one large target.

It was hard to keep ahead of the enemy and the truth was, every one of them with the exception of Teal’c, had reservations about firing on the guards. Even though it was impossible to tell with their fearsome looking armour, every member of the seven felt uneasy about firing on the women who wore them. Eventually however, as the blasts of staff weapons came closer and the heat of the weapon’s payload smouldered the walls near them, leaving black imprints of death in the steel, reluctance was quickly overcome and JD was the first to start shooting. This was hardly a surprised to Buck of course, JD was always eager to pit himself against a new foe, no matter how different they were. In the absence of Chris and Vin, Buck was glad Teal’c was with them.

Buck knew people and when he saw Teal’c act, flawless in all execution of moves and reaction, he could well believe this man had spent his entire life doing nothing else but fighting these creatures. He wondered if he could endure an existence this way and decided to just be grateful Teal’c was on their side. As he and JD fired, using the futuristic weapons Jack O’Neill provided them, they were amazed at a gun that could fire almost twenty bullets. Teal’c had given him his rifle, at least he thought it was a rifle. It looked like nothing Buck considered to be such and held something like 80 bullets in its chamber. After Teal’c liberated Ezra’s staff weapon, he had given Buck spare clips and showed him how to insert them into place. The Jaffa guards were soon driven back by the onslaught of bullets and energy blasts as they progressed deeper into the bunker in their efforts to escape.

This was a state of affairs that did not at all impressed Nathan because the healer wanted to get back to the gate or find or quiet place so he could tend to Ezra’s wounds. As far as Nathan was concerned, Ezra was only a hair’s breadth from dying and needed mending immediately. However, with the guards pursuing them relentlessly, never more than a few minutes behind them, Buck was starting to wonder if they would get him help in time.

"Are we even close to getting out of here?" Josiah called out as he and Nathan struggled to carry Ezra.

"The Jaffa seem to be coming after us in particular." Teal’c said mystified by their behaviour, wondering what was so important that they would forget about the rest of the bunker. After a second, he realised why the Jaffa was reluctant to engage in the affairs of the two Goa’ulds in possession of Chris Larabee’s wife and Vin Tanner’s betrothed. It was always unwise to become embroiled in the warrings of two Goa’uld’s when it was uncertain who would be the winner of their combat. The Jaffa would busy themselves with other matters in the meantime, until an outcome decided which was the clear victor.

"Where are we anyway?" Nathan asked. "I think we’ve gone further underground."

"This place is a maze." Buck had to admit as they looked around the nondescript corridor of dark walls and polished floors.

"They are designed much in the way of Goa’uld ships." Teal’c said helpfully and realised by the blank expressions he received they had no idea of what he meant by ‘ships’. Deciding it was probably too difficult to explain, it was better they started making an ascent rather than a descent in their escape. By now, the rest of SG1 would have undoubtedly engaged the Goa’ulds and they had to be out of here before their presence becomes a hindrance to the others in some way.

Buck heard something.

At first, he was unsure what it was. It drifted through the air like soft whispers because it was evidently further along the corridor than he could see. As the others debated on their course of action, Buck found himself following the source, trying to discern from where it was coming. His gun remained poised to fire and he felt his palms sweat a little as he gripped it tightly in his hand. Buck was not afraid to admit this whole experience had unnerved him and felt perfectly justified for feeling some measure of fear.

He followed the voices until he reached the end of the corridor and then found they were no longer indistinct and could start to identify them a bit. As expected, the voices were that of women but the language was beyond him. However, though he could not understand what they were saying as he turned off the corridor and started down the steps leading him to them, he could hear the fear in their voices.

It did not take Buck long to realise he was possibly entering the fortresses’ jail for the place he entered reminded him of one of those Mexican jails no man ever wanted to find himself. As he left the steps emptying into a larger chamber, the voices became more excited and frantic the more apparent his footsteps became. When he stepped into the dungeon, the noise became fever pitch as the prisoners suddenly saw someone who did not appear to be a guard.

He could not tell how many they were but judging from the hands that waved frantically at him through the small window in the door to their cell and their frantic voices, he guessed they were many. Buck raised his gun to fire at the locking mechanism on the side of the wall when suddenly he heard JD behind him.

"Buck!" The younger man called. "Are you down there?"

"Yeah," Buck returned as he prepared to take aim again. He had seen Teal’c shooting a couple of these things while they had been on the run and was certain this was some form of a lock similar to what they had previously encountered. "Cover me, will ya." Buck called out. "There are people trapped down here."

"Sure Buck." JD answered, hurrying up the narrow stairs to take watch at the entrance so they would not be caught unawares while Buck did what he had to. There was no question in his mind whether they should be wasting their time helping others because what he had seen today convinced him the people here needed all the help they could get.

Pulling the trigger, the bullets tore through the metallic device, filling the room with noise and sending shivers of fright through the women he was trying to save. They withdrew immediately further into their cells, uttering squeals of shock as they did so. When the bullets had done their worst, the lock remained in smouldering fragments, its smooth metal casing completely ruined as the door clicked ever so quietly but loud enough for Buck to know it could no longer keep its captives trapped. Pulling the door open, the lawman peered through the dimly lit room to see a number of youthful faces staring at him with apprehension and a slight measure of hope.

"Come on now!" He called to them and realised they did not understand a word he was saying until he gestured with his hands to follow. Once that was done, there was no holding them back and they almost bowled him over in the stampede to flee their dark prison. It was only after they emerged into the light, he realised who they were. These must have been the girls taken from the village to be used to create new guards. With a sigh of relief, Buck decided they had yet to be implanted with the foul creatures that had taken over Mary and Alex.

Suddenly, he realised that was why Ezra was tortured.

The gambler had not submitted to Isis to produce any new creatures to enslave the women in this room. In her anger at his refusal, she must have vented the full torrent of her rage upon him and caused the injuries that was almost taking his life. She probably thought the torture might make him submit to her desire to procreate. Good ol’ Ezra, Buck thought with a smile of admiration as he gestured to his new charges to follow him out of this place. At least Vin could rest easy, knowing nothing happened between Ezra and Alex, even though it was Isis who was using her body and Alex had no choice in the matter. Vin was abound with enough insecurities regarding his relationship with the lady doctor, without things being worse if Ezra had lain with Alex.

He hurried up the stairs, with the prisoners who were mostly young women in their late teens to early adulthood, following him closely as he communicated to them in hand signals and gestures, since they could not understand a word he was saying. He noticed they were all very attractive and healthy, making sense why Mary and Alex had been taken. While both of the Four Corner’s women were extremely intelligent and well-spirited, it was their outward appearance that made them so desired by the creatures who had taken their bodies. Mary with her gold hair and eyes that could see through your soul and Alex with skin so wild and a smile that could melt a man where he stood.

Emerging at the top of the stairs, he saw the others coming to meet himself and JD. With the freed captives behind him, the hallway suddenly became very crowded.

"Where did they come from?" Nathan asked.

"They were locked up." Buck explained quickly, feeling more imperative now than ever they vacated the place. "I think they were gonna be used as guards."

"These are the women taken from the village as hosts." Teal’c nodded in understanding.

"Then they haven’t been done yet." JD ventured a guess. "The thing that got Alex didn’t have a chance to make more of them with Ezra then."

"I guess so." Buck shrugged, guessing that had to be the truth since the proof of it lay before them.

"I have found a way out," Teal’c announced, deciding they could not linger here much longer and had to keep moving. "We must go, if any of us are to escape." As he spoke, his eyes shifted across the faces of the new arrivals who were looking frightened and relying upon him and his companions to lead them to freedom.

"All right then ladies," Buck turned to the group who seemed to have place their trust in the man who liberated them from their dungeon and was prepared to follow his guidance. "Follow the man." He said as Teal’c started moving, waving wildly with his hands at which direction they were going.

As they started to leave, Josiah could not help but remark. "You know Buck," the preacher chuckled as he brushed past Buck. "You’re the only man I know who can find himself in a mess as crazy as the one we’re in and still manage to find female company."

Buck was tempted to frown at him because he was no happier with the situation than Josiah. By all accounts, this ought to be heaven for him, a place where a man was highly prized and would be waited on hand and foot by the women who owned him and required to perform only one duty, a duty to which he was extraordinarily equipped to handle.

It stabbed at the core of Buck Wilmington to know he had grown.

His child was waiting for him on his world, not to mention the most infuriating woman who ever walked the Earth, who captured his heart from the very first time she told him to get lost, whom he was determined to win, no matter what the sacrifice. God had a strange sense of humour by sending him here to test himself and Buck hoped the Almighty was properly amused.

"Yeah," Buck grumbled as he followed the preacher. "I’m so _lucky_."

* * *

Although Chris and the others had not encountered many guards as they made their escape from the fortress, they ran into enough to delay their departure. Their flight from Isis’s stronghold was not made any easier by the fact the two Goa’ulds in their possession were almost feral in their determination not to be taken from this world. Sekhmet in particular, though bound and gagged, had almost been hysterical in her captivity. She screamed through the gag in her mouth like some insane wraith while kicking at Chris with such ferocity, the gunslinger had no choice but to use his fists to settle her down.

As they neared the gate, it became obvious no one was following them. There were a limited number of Jaffa in the bunker as it was and if they engaged Buck and the others while they were retrieving Ezra, it would account for the scarce numbers of Jaffa that tried to keep them from leaving the fortress. Upon making the journey back to the stargate, Daniel advised it was probably prudent they avoid passing through the village for it was unknown how the Netjer would take seeing their gods as captives. Avoiding the village cut valuable time from their trip and less than an hour or so after they left the pyramid fortress, they could see the outline of the ring of stargate through the trees.

"You fools!" Isis swore in her Goa’uld voice. "Do you think taking us back to your world will change anything? This body is ours! We will not let it go!" Her eyes flared in defiance at Vin in particular, since he was the one responsible for injuring her and had her securely in his grip.

"Gag her." Chris ordered. He knew from experience what cruelties could come from her mouth after enduring the same unpleasantness from Sekhmet earlier. He would spare Vin that same torture.

"Good idea." Jack agreed, having heard something of what Sekhmet had said to Chris and had seen the haunted look in Chris’s eyes to believe the man knew what he was talking about.

"Could you please get the scarf from my neck, ma’am?" Vin asked Sam who was staying away from both of the Goa’ulds. He was not prepared to let Isis go for any reason because their chances of getting Alex back relied almost completely on getting Isis to wherever Jack O’Neill intended them to go.

"Sure." Sam nodded and removed the scarf tied around the tracker’s neck, trying not to look at Isis as she did so. Instead, she had been staying well away from the two Goa’ulds since they were captured. Every Goa’uld she met since her blending with Jolinahr, knew she was a host and it made her decidedly uncomfortable they could ferret out such knowledge by just _looking_ at her.

Almost on cue, Isis spoke. "You have had one of us inside you."

Sam swallowed hard and did not answer, concentrating on undoing the knot around Vin’s neck because this was not a subject she wished to discuss.

"Shut up." Vin snapped, seeing in Sam’s eyes how much she disliked Isis making reference to that. To illustrate his point, he flashed Isis a look of warning, surprising himself because he was no longer seeing the face before him as Alex but some vile creature hurting his friens. He supposed if he just kept that mindset in place, he might actually have some hope of getting her back.

"You will have the honour of being our first Jaffa." Isis hissed.

"Do all of you queens have nothing different to say?" Jack asked sarcastically, remembering the same words coming from Hathor’s lips when she tried to make him her Jaffa.

She ignored him but then turned her attention to Vin once again. "If you desire this body so much, perhaps we will make you our Pharoah. You need only let us go and we will allow you access to our host mind. We promise you an eternity of pleasure at our side. We will expand the scant century you would have shared with her into millennia."

"I ain’t listening to you." Vin said stiffly, unable to deny spending forever with Alex was tantalising but not at the price they would have to pay. He was almost relieved when Sam finally removed the scarf around his neck and rolled it into a gag, which she promptly secured over Isis’s mouth. The Goa’uld shook her head vigorously to keep the cloth from cutting off her speech but Sam was almost as determined to place it there as Isis was to have it gone. Eventually, the major won out and Vin let out a sigh of relief, not wishing to endure what Chris was going through at this moment with Sekhmet.

"Thanks." He said gratefully at Sam as the gate appeared before them.

"No problem." She replied with a faint smile.

"So where are we going again?" Vin asked Daniel, knowing only that the place they were going to had a cure for Alex and not much else. Judging by the group dynamic, it was obvious Daniel was the one who had the answers for such things.

"A place called Sumeria." Daniel explained. "We found it a few years ago. It’s apparently protected by enemies of the Goa’uld called the Asgard. They’ve made it a protected planet and no Goa’uld can go there."

Both Isis and Sekhmet recognised the word Asgard for they immediately renewed their struggles, with decidedly more vigour and desperation in their attempt to break free. Both Vin and Daniel had to grab hold of Isis to keep her from breaking free of him while Sekhmet became similarly agitated, requiring Jack to help Chris in restraining her.

"Carter, dial the gate." Jack instructed as the ring of stone loomed over them. Sam hurried forward, jogging to the dial home device located not far from it.

"So I guess this place can help us." Chris replied, if Sekhmet and Isis’s reaction was anything to judge. They were fighting every inch of the way to the gate now, guessing how close to doom they really were with the mention of the Asgard.

"It’s the only chance you get of getting either of them back." Jack answered truthfully.

The moment they passed through the gate and reached the other side of the wormhole, Isis and Sekhmet’s fate would be effectively taken out of their hands. Once on Sumeria, they would be spirited away to Thor’s Hammer where the symbiotes would be removed from the bodies of both women. Of course Jack did not feel the pressing need to tell them about the little surprise awaiting them inside the cavernous structure where Thor’s Hammer was located. However, springing an Unas on them on top of everything else these men had experienced in the past few days would be too much even for their understanding.

"Jack," Daniel spoke since they would soon be departing this world. "Are we just going to leave? Shouldn’t we find out if Teal’c and the others made it?"

Jack frowned, wishing they had news about their friends. Ideally, Teal’c and the others should already be on Earth, having entered the gate long before this. However, it was too much of a tactical risk for them to delay their journey to Sumeria and so Jack would have to rely upon Teal’c to get Chris’s men to Earth and deal with it later if he had not. Teal’c was extremely dependable for such things and the men who rode with Chris Larabee seem to be of the same ilk. The colonel had to believe they were capable of handling themselves because they could not afford to go back and look for them. They were having enough trouble keeping Isis and Sekhmet under control without having to backtrack.

"We can’t risk it." Jack said after awhile. "Chris, you know your men. Do you think they can handle themselves long enough for us to get back if anything goes wrong?"

"They’ll do all right." Vin replied confidently before Chris could answer. "With Teal’c showing 'em what to do at the rough spots, I don’t see them getting into any trouble they can’t get themselves out of." The tracker met Chris’s gaze and knew the gunslinger felt the same way as he did. Besides, he could understand Jack’s reasoning to get out of here as soon as possible. The Jaffa had not figured out what had happened to their goddesses yet but when they did, they would be coming, not to mention the Netjer, who may not take kindly to the very same thing.

"They’re on their own for now Daniel." Jack replied, since they had come to something of a decision.

Meanwhile, Sam had begun the dialling sequence. Each symbol illuminated upon activation when her palm pressed the glyphs. Moving in tandem with the sequence of symbols being initiated, each chevron on the stargate began locking into place, following the same pattern of movements the men from Four Corners had witnessed on the previous occasions they had seen it working. Despite themselves, Vin and Chris still stared at the thing in astonishment, marvelling at the science that made it work even if its understanding was so far beyond them it was almost like magic.

The ground began to rumble the closer the gate reached to locking in the seventh symbol, until they could feel the tremor under their feet become a violent quake that could easily topple them if they were not careful. Birds in the near by trees took flight as the trunks began to resonate with a vibration that quickly spread through its branches and made its leaves rustle. In the cavern the effect was contained but out here, where they were allow to witness it in the wide-open space, its power seemed all the more potent. As the surge of energy required to open the wormhole finally manifested itself, the explosion of light and colour gushed out from the hollow of the ring, like white froth before receding into the serene ripple of energy that looked like a pool’s calm reflection.

"NO!" Isis screamed angrily, managing to loosen the gag from her mouth long enough to cry.

The sound of her voice took Vin by surprise and for a moment, she almost broke free of both Daniel and himself with a surge of strength that could have killed them both if her hands were free to inflict the damage. However, the ropes tied around her wrist held fast and Daniel pressed the zat gun firmly into her back to force her to remain where she was. He was completely prepared to immobilise her again if she offered any further resistance. Enough time had passed since the weapon was last used on her to prevent any fatal consequences if he fired.

"You will pay for this!" She shouted, almost hysterical in her rage as Daniel and Vin pulled her up the stairs. Her legs were no longer cooperating and she was fighting them with every inch of strength she could muster. After awhile, both men were force to drag her forcibly, the tips of her toes scraping against the ground and then rock when they descended up the steps leading to the mouth of the gate.

"Daniel," Jack called out since it appeared Vin and Daniel would pass through the gate first. "Remember to keep your hands on her after you get through or you won’t join the party."

"I remember," Daniel declared, knowing all about Thor's Hammer. It was the only way of freeing Sharee from her captors and he studied all he could about the device to know about its peculiarities. He felt a certain amount of scientific curiosity at witnessing how the hammer would work on Isis because he needed to see for himself if Kendra’s claims were true, that the hammer could save Sharee when he brought her to it.

"Carter, I want you to get in touch with the locals. They were pretty willing to help us in the future, maybe we can get their help again. I want you to round up some horses and get them to the mountain pass when we get through the hammer. None of these ladies are going to feel like covering the distance back to the gate once the Hammer is done with them." Jack instructed as they moved past her and headed towards the wormhole.

"Yes Sir," she nodded and followed him closely behind understanding completely. Sumeria’s local inhabitants believe the Asgard race  to be the gods of Nordic Myth. Indeed that was how the Asgards presented themselves to the primitive race who knew of the Goa'uld only as the evil Etns. If Carter were to approach them and asked them for help against the Etns, it was likely the Sumerians would think it their duty as Thor’s children to assist.

Sekhmet was struggling just as hard as Isis, although the gag in her mouth had not loosened and her protests were made with little more than furious grunts and guttural sounds that clearly  translated her rage. Even as Sam followed behind, she could see Jack and Chris fighting to keep a grip on her and knew the amount of strength they were using to keep her restrained. The Goa'uld made their hosts very strong, which was why their Jaffa were so formidable.

"You cannot do this to us!" Isis snarled enraged, fighting harden than ever as they neared the wormhole. "We will perish if we are taken there! You will be condemning us to die!" She pleaded, starting to realise there would be no escape unless she could reason with them in some way.

All Goa'uld knew what Sumeria represented, not simply because it was a world protected by the Asgard. Teal’c explained before their first visit to Sumeria, no Goa'uld went there willingly. Those Goa'uld who dared to travel to the planet never returned and upon arriving there themselves, SG1 understood why. Since all Goa'uld had genetic memory, no doubt Isis would retain the knowledge of this world being taboo. While she might not know what awaited her on the planet, Isis was no fool. As one of the oldest Egyptian gods, she was known for her cunning and intellect and knew the Asgard would surely possess the technology to be of extreme danger to her.

"Please Vin!" She cried out, her voice losing all trace of the Goa'uld inhabiting Alex’s body. "Please help me!"

Vin turned sharply to her, knowing that voice to be Alex’s not Isis. "Alex?"

"Snap out of it!" Chris shouted before he even had a chance to entertain the notion it might be Alexandra Styles speaking to him and not Isis. Having heard Sekhmet employ this particular ruse to trick him into letting down his guard, Chris was not about to let Vin suffer the same fate. "That ain’t her Vin!"

"You know me Vin!" She pleaded again. "You can’t let me die! You can’t take me there!"

"Vin," Daniel said with a soft voice as they paused right in front of the shimmery veil of energy. "It’s not her." He swallowed, understanding the pain he saw in the tracker’s eyes as the man tried not to let the anguish overwhelm him.

Isis was still trying to reach him with her duplicitous words, begging and pleading for him to release her but Vin hardened himself inwardly and ignore what she said. He met her eyes and knew what he saw there was not Alex at all but some stranger who would kill him if she had the chance. The only way he had to save Alex, was to keep going.

"I beg you Vin," she begged, tears running down her cheeks as she met his eyes. "Don’t let them take me there."

Vin blinked slowly and looked at the hand wrapped firmly around her arm. For a few seconds he looked at his firm grip saying nothing before moving his free hand to her cheek. A slow smile started to form on her lips as she saw his fingers moved down her skin before placing it on her neck. She was about to speak when Vin’s hand secured itself firmly around her neck and stepped into the portal, taking her with him without any further delay.

"I will kill you!" Her scream disappeared with the rest of her as she and Vin went through, with Daniel being taken for the journey, since he was holding on to her other arm.

Sekhmet stopped struggling as she saw Isis taken, as if the shock of it all had temporarily numbed her senses. The warrior goddess stared at the space where her companion was taken, unable to move and Chris saw the first semblance of real fear seep into her eyes as he and Jack started leading her towards the gate. She made no effort to struggle until they were poised at its very edge, facing the wormhole that would take her to the end of her two millennia existence.

Suddenly, she broke away, wrenching her arm free from Chris and using the momentary distraction to kick her foot into the flesh part of Jack’s thigh. It was enough to be free of them for a number of seconds and she turned around and started to run away from the gate when Sam threw a fist into her face and send her reeling backwards…

Right into the wormhole.

She disappeared so abruptly that for a moment both men were at a loss for words until Sam broke the silence of the moment. "Don’t you think you better go after her?"

"Don’t you just love her?" Jack said exchanging a smile of mischief with Chris as he turned back to Sam. "You’re lucky, they still can’t vote in your time."

"Jack," Chris remarked as he started to step into the wormhole. "You think my wife is trouble now? You should have met her before that thing got inside of her."

"Feisty is she?" Jack asked.

Chris shook his head. "Don’t get me _started_."

* * *

The world of Sumeria was not unlike home.

The climate reminded Vin Tanner of places further up north but in essence, it did not at all look like an alien world. As he stared into the sky, he noticed it was day time here as well but the sun was only starting to ascend across the horizon, not unlike their previous location where twilight was only a few hours away. Vin did not have much time to contemplate the beauty of the place even though he had to admit he would like to have explored it if time allowed. Unfortunately as he recovered from the latest trip through the portal, feeling the same icicles of cold stabbing at his skin, he also noticed Isis was trying to make a run for it.

She broke free from him again, taking advantage of the disorientation he felt in experiencing gate travel. He recovered faster than she gave him credit and took note of Daniel shouting at him to catch her before it was too late. He did not understand what was to happen here but it registered in his mind she was trying to run and that was enough for him to launch himself at her. He knocked her over on the stone floor the gate was perched upon and was half-aware of Chris and the others emerging behind him as he landed on top of her.

Another set of nails tore through his skin, this time on his exposed neck as he found himself straddling her once again, determined to make her stay put. Daniel was at his side in seconds, looking around anxiously waiting for something to happen. His eyes rested on a stone monument carved with intricate designs Vin had not seen before. It towered over the gate, standing watch over the ring of stone like it was the custodian of this place. Daniel viewed it with apprehension and as he looked at Isis, realised fear was etched in her face as she stared at it.

Sekhmet emerged first and also tried to run but Jack O’Neill who was used to gate travel and had become accustomed to its effects, caught up with her easily. He wrapped his arms around her chest and fairly lifted her off the ground to keep her from making it down the steps, not that she would get very far. Dropping the staff weapon when he captured her, he quickly looked at Sam who was the last to appear through the gate before the wormhole collapsed, and the gate returned to normal once again.

"Sam, give Chris your gun. You can take my staff weapon." 

Knowing what was coming as well as the rest of SG1, she slung her rifle over Chris’s shoulder and started ushering him towards Sekhmet and Jack because now the gate was closed, they did not have a lot of time. During their first visit to Sumeria, it had taken a matter of minutes for the device to work and they had to be ready for it as it prepared itself to perform its vital function during this occasion.

"What’s going on?" Chris asked puzzled, trying to dispel the cold in his skin while at the same time, wrap his frostbitten fingers around the weapons Sam was giving him, including all the spare clips she was inserting into the pockets of his duster. He looked at her in question but she did not bother to explain even if the urgency of the situation was in her eyes.

"You need to be near your wife." She said as they reached Sekhmet who was fighting for dear life in Jack’s grip. Chris had just wrapped his hands around her wrists to stop her fingers from trying to prise Jack’s arms from around her body when suddenly, he heard something humming behind him.

"It’s started." Sam stated looking up at the monument.

"What’s started?" Vin demanded as Daniel placed his hands on Isis’s shoulders, pinning her to the ground.

"That," Daniel gestured to the stone monument was the source of the strange humming sound. It was not very different from the noises made by the gate but there was something about this that was smoother and more penetrating. The low vibration could be felt in his teeth and picked up momentum with the seconds that tumbled by.

"Release us!" Isis cried again when a beam of blue light sliced through the morning air.

The light which Sam knew to be a sensor beam of some type, quickly scanned the humans before it and found nothing until it reached the two women who were brought here against their will. The reaction as it bathed them in its sapphire glow was immediate. Both Sekhmet and Isis began to writhe with pain, the concentration of which seemed to be centred on their abdomens. Sekhmet tensed in Jack’s grip, oblivious to her confinement now because what was coursing through her body was nothing to be enjoyed but intense and life ending. Chris looked at Jack in question; panic starting to set in as he saw what she was enduring was apparently agonising. He wanted Sekhmet to feel pain but not at the cost of Mary’s life.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded.

"It’s the hammer." Jack tried to explain, knowing what was coming next. "You want your wife back? Hold on because this is the only way."

Chris wanted a better explanation than that but it did not appear as if Jack was about to provide one. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Isis in similar pain, thrashing about wildly as Vin held on, instructed by Daniel to do so even if his fear was just as apparent as Chris’s own. He met Jack’s gaze again, trying not to show he doubted the man even though the sentiment was in his eyes when suddenly, something happened which made just about as much sense as everything else that had taken place in the last two days.

The world around him vanished.

* * *

Sam saw the men disappear and let out a sigh of relief.

She did not envy what Mary Larabee and Alexandra Styles were about to endure but she was glad they would not be doing it alone. Now the Goa’uld threat was removed as far as the sensors were concerned, the guardian at the gate returned to its dormant state with no evidence to prove it was a matter transference device and not a simple stone edifice erected in honour of Thor.

She took a deep breath and dropped the backpack she was carrying on the ground, eager to discard the Jaffa uniform she was wearing since it would most likely frighten the locals if she turned up in anything but her uniform. Unfortunately, the staff weapon was her only means of protection so she could not discard it. Nevertheless, the Sumerians were a peaceful people who did not believe very much beyond the capability of their god. It was likely she would be believed if she claimed this to be a weapon of the Etn taken by Thor's Hammer.

From their previous visits to Sumeria, she had a rough idea which direction the village lay and knew she had at least an hour’s walk to reach it. If she was to meet the Colonel then she had better get moving, since it would take almost a day on foot to reach the cavern where Thor’s Hammer would deposit the others when it was done with Sekhmet and Isis. Hopefully, she could induce the natives to volunteer some horses to make the journey up the mountainous terrain somewhat smoother. In any case, she had to get moving and be ready for them when they emerged.

After all, Lord only knew what effect passing through the hammer was going to have on Mary and Alex when it was all said and done.

* * *

"Now where are we?" Chris grumbled as he felt his head swim.

"Inside a mountain." Jack answered helpfully as he felt the same disorientation when he got to his feet. Next to him, he could see Sekhmet lying on her face, still groaning from the intense pain she felt when the Asgard device scanned them to determine who was human and who was Goa'uld. It seemed as if the fight had gone out of her even though he was not foolish enough to take that at face value. If there was one thing he had learnt about this particular Goa'uld, she knew quite a bit about playing dead until one’s guard was down before she proceeded to make you the same with no hesitation. 

Chris stood up and examining his new surroundings only to decide in a matter of seconds he did not like where they had been sent. He had no doubt the device had taken them here as surely as the gate had carried them across the galaxy from one planet to another. He preferred not to think so much as to how or why but focus on what was required to free Mary and Alex. Judging by Jack's taut expression, it did not appear as if their troubles were quite over yet. He walked over to Sekhmet and pulled her to her feet, feeling no sympathy for the creature that had taken his wife and was determined to expel her once and for all by whatever means this place with its dark halls and cavernous atmosphere promised.

"Everyone okay?" Jack turned to Daniel and Vin who had yet to speak but seemed more focussed on securing their grip on Isis who was strangely silent in this place. It did not take any amount of genius to know the Goa’'uld was frightened by what had transpired earlier. By now, she must have guessed whatever this place was, she had no power in it and was at the mercy of the men who brought her here.

"I’m fine." Daniel said stretching his neck as if he had pulled a muscle.

"What now?" Vin said impatiently, helping Isis to her feet but keeping as firm a grip on her as Chris was doing to Mary.

His question was never answered as the image of a man clad in medieval armour appeared in the nearby distance. While neither Jack nor Daniel reacted to his sudden emergence, Chris and Vin immediately went for their weapons, unwilling to chance anything after the events they endured these past two days.

"Its okay." Jack quickly said, gesturing for them to lower their weapons. "It’s not real. That’s not really a person." Just to prove it to them, he walked towards the hologram and ran his hand through it. The image of Thor shimmered as his hand moved through it and returned to normal when he withdrew.

"Strange." Vin finally said and holstered his weapon, trusting Jack in this matter.

"Who is he?" Chris asked as he studied the man from where he was, taking note of the armour and the sword, not to mention the clothes that looked straight out of a history book.

"That’s Thor." Daniel explained helpfully.

As if aware of what was being asked, the image became animated and Thor’s voice laced with a thick Scandinavian accent began to address those before him.

_"I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet. The High Council of Asgard has designated Sumeria a safe world for developing sentient species by unanimous decree of 40.737.29. The Goa'uld System Lords were so informed._

_You were warned not to come here under pain for death. For crimes against the living host and for all those you have murdered and enslaved, the sentence is death. This is your prison. There are no luxuries, no prisoners, no slaves to do your bidding, only basic sustenance and time. When you tire of this existence, go to the hall of Yulnar and face the hammer. There is no escape, only the host can leave this place alive."_

The words made no sense to Chris and Vin, well not all of it. They agreed that this place was indeed a prison just as they realised only the host could leave once the Goa'uld were brought here. While they had no idea how this would be accomplished, they trusted Jack  and company to know he would not have allowed Mary and Alex to be brought here unless there was a genuine hope for their salvation.

"We will not leave!" Isis burst out angrily, speaking for the first time since Thor’s eerie warning was given.

"Oh yes you are." Jack turned and faced her. "Because one little thing I haven’t let anyone in on and I’m sorry Chris, I probably should have told you, but we aren’t alone in here."

"What do you mean?" Chris eyed him suspiciously, not liking surprises and his annoyance at having one sprung on him right now, showed most evidently by the scowl he was flashing in Jack’s face.

"Its some kind of a monster," Jack described for the want of a better word that would be as clear as that. "It’s been here a long time and its hungry. Now we’ve faced it before so I can tell you it isn’t invulnerable, just really hard to kill. Fortunately, it tends to lie dormant until it senses prey so if we can get to the hammer really fast, we can probably get out of here before it knows about us."

Vin and Chris stared at him, with expressions on their faces that did not show the same optimism he felt.

"Oh this just gets better." Vin drawled with unhappiness. "What kind of a thing? Is it smart?"

"Yes," Daniel answered. "Its intelligence is equal to us, probably more because its got a Goa'uld inside it."

"Unas!" Isis swore. "You have brought us to a place where there is Unas?" The fear in her voice was clear and Jack would not be surprised if she was rather glad at this point, her captors were not carrying Goa'uld weapons since none of it would work inside the structure.

"A what?" Vin looked away from her and to Daniel in question. "What did she call it?"

"Unas." The linguist answered. "That’s what they’re called by Goa'uld. Before they started using humans as hosts, they used these creatures called the Unas. They’re already very strong but with the Goa'uld symbiote inside of them, they’re extremely dangerous."

"Unas will kill you!" Isis said derisively. "We are Goa'uld, it will be ours to command."

"Sorry your worship," Jack interjected shaking his head in answer. "This particular Unas or whatever has been trapped here a long time and I’d say the confinement hasn’t been good to him because the first time we got zapped to this place, the bones we found were not just human. Apparently, our Unas has got a taste for Goa'uld as well."

Isis recoiled at the thought and an expression of disgust drained into her face. However, it was not long before her eyes narrowed with calculation and she straightened her back and raised her chin, looking very much like a queen as she exchanged a brief glance with Sekhmet.

"Sekhmet has hunted Unas."

"Hunt Unas?" Daniel retorted almost immediately and with a great deal of skepticism. "How can you hunt Unas. They’re one of you?"

"They were some who became dangerous to us after we chose to abandon their species as a host." Isis met Jack’s eyes, her lips curling at the corner as she spoke with authority on the subject they did not have. "Those who served as Jaffa attempted rebellion and we were forced to act. The System Lords made it a sport to hunt these creatures and Sekhmet was one of the greatest Unas hunters. She can aid you if this creature intends to harm you."

"And I’m suppose to believe this?" Jack asked. "Even if I were to suspend all intelligence and personal sanity, how can I trust her?"

"It is to our benefit that we stay alive. Our immediate problem appears to be the Unas that is trapped here with us. We can resume hostilities later but for the moment, none of us wishes to be a meal for such a creature. You need only ask Sekhmet yourself. She will reveal to you how you may kill this creature."

"Really?" Jack looked at the warrior goddess’s direction and removed the gag momentarily. "This true? You got the deal on how to kill one of these things?"

Sekhmet did not respond immediately, allowing herself to become accustomed to the absence of the handkerchief in her mouth and finding her voice again after a moment.

"Perhaps," she met his gaze and that of Chris. Chris was even more sceptical than Jack in regards to Isis’s claims. "I have hunted many things in my time. Unas is no different from any other."

"I’m sure." Jack responded, more certain that ever this was an attempt to escape and he was not about to fall for it. "No deal." Jack swung around and face Isis once again. "We can do this without you."

"You are fools!" Sekhmet shouted, eyes flaring in full Goa'uld fury as her voice became that coarse rumble once again. "The Unas will crunch your bones like kindling. I only hope I live long enough to see your death."

"That concludes this portion of the act," Jack said securing the gag back in her mouth as she tried to snap his fingers between his teeth. "For your information, I’ve been this way before so I know how to get to the Hall of Yulnar fairly quickly." He explained this not only for the benefit of Isis and Sekhmet to let them know why their offer was refused, but also the humans present. "Besides," he looked at Isis to make this his final say on the subject. "It will be a stone cold day in hell before I trust either of you with anything, let alone my life."

"Can’t argue with the man there." Chris added, just in case Jack was even entertaining the notion which he did not believe the colonel to be. Jack was no fool, this much Chris had come to learn in the brief time of their acquaintanceship.

"Then you all die!" Isis declared angrily, furious that her plan to gain partial freedom had come to nothing. "We will rather die here at the hands of Unas then allow you to kill us by the hammer of Thor."

"You don’t have a choice." Vin declared having heard enough from this stranger who was using Alex’s voice to make her venomous remarks. Without arguing, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, like a sack. He had carried far heavier in his life and this was the only way to insure that she made no attempts to hinder their progress out of this place.

"How dare you!" Isis screeched in outrage, as Vin waited for the others to proceed. "We will kill you for this insult."

"Now you’re starting to sound like Alex." Vin drawled, showing he was unperturbed by this tirade and would not longer be affected by anything she had to say to him. "You know the way out Jack?" 

"Yeah," Jack said stifling a smile. "A place like this isn’t easy to forget."

"Well then let’s get a move on." Chris retorted, understanding now why Jack was reluctant to tell them about the Unas before this but was aware it would have made very little difference to him any way, even if he had known about the creature living inside this place. If Thor could bring Mary back to him, Chris would have been willing to gamble any risk for her life.

"Now that’s the spirit." Jack said with a smile as they started moving out of the smaller chamber, passing by Thor as they began their search for what was called the hall of Yulnar.

* * *

Once they had managed to escape the bunker, finishing off the dwindling Jaffa guards during their perilous departure, the visitors to Netjer made one stop at the village to deposit the people they had rescued from the fortress. As expected, the villagers were extremely grateful and offered a place for them to rest as well as medical treatment for Ezra. Understanding them was difficult enough as it was without Daniel playing interpreter but eventually Buck, whom the group was particularly fond of, since he had been their saviour, managed to convince them it was far more expedient that the visitors left immediately.

Ezra was fading fast and it took even more convincing by Buck and Teal’c to convince Nathan the best course of action at the moment was to continue their advance to the gate. The healer was not at all happy by this situation because many of Ezra’s injuries needed immediate treatment. The fever gripping the gambler had let go but his condition was not improved for it. Ezra had slipped in and out of consciousness since they found him but now he was completely unresponsive and did not even favour them with the comfort of his delirium to assure them he was still among them.

If the situation were not already grim when they made the trek back to the gate, there was still no sight of the others anywhere. Ever since they separated inside the fortress, Buck and those with him had no idea of what happened to Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner. Had they made it out or where they still trying to retrieve Isis and Sekhmet? It drove Buck insane with worry not to know but then he told himself that it was what Chris wanted. For the moment anyway, Buck was willing to let that wish stand. However, he made a silent vow to himself if enough time had passed and there was still no sign of their missing comrades, he was going through the gate after them.

Teal’c seemed to agree with this plan, being just as devoted to Jack O’Neill as the seven were to Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner. However, like them, he was just as bound to Jack’s request as they were to what Chris had asked of them. Buck could see he was fighting the urge to return to the fortress and find Jack and the others but duty and the most rigid sense of honour Buck had ever seen, kept Teal’c at their side. Perhaps Teal’c knew as well as they all did that none of them could return home without him or for that matter, use the sarcophagus device that awaited Ezra once they passed through the portal back to the world they knew.

"How is he?" Buck asked after they reached the gate and Teal’c began activating the device for their return home. Nathan had set Ezra down momentarily and was trying to stem some of the wounds bleeding profusely from the time they had found him until now. The makeshift bandages Nathan fashioned were almost all soaked through with blood and Ezra’s pallor seemed deathly pale. They had followed the trail of blood to find him and he had led it back here for most of their flight from the fortress. Buck could not even begin to imagine what he endured as he tried to prevail against Isis’s demand for propagation.

"He can’t last much longer." Nathan said grimly, fastening a fresh length of material around the festering wound on Ezra’s side. "He’s lost a lot of blood."

"The fever seems to be gone though." Josiah said as he rested for a moment. He and Nathan carried the gambler all the way here and for most of that journey, Ezra was a dead weight. Relying solely on an alien device to heal Ezra when his wounds were so massive and becoming progressively worse, unsettled Josiah and Nathan.

"His body has started shutting down." Nathan swallowed, trying to hide how much losing Ezra would effect him.

When they had first met, neither could say they would consider each other brothers in the future to come. Ezra had seen him as nothing more than a coloured man. Yet as time passed and they found themselves as part of this strange fellowship, Ezra’s prejudices diminished and there came a time when the gambler was happy to risk his life for Nathan’s and had proved it on several occasions. While friendships formed within the group dynamic, Nathan found to his surprise that his had emerged with Ezra’s, which in his opinion had been the most unlikely one of all. Letting him die like this without lifting a finger to help was more than Nathan could stand and he prayed secretly this device would effect just a stunning recovery as it had done for Vin.

"Well it won’t be much longer now." JD replied looking over his shoulder as he spoke and sawTeal’c bring the device to life. Even as the symbols flared with light as he touched them, they could feel the slight quake of the ground as the gate was activated. Despite the urgency of their present situation, the men could not help finding their gazes transfixed at the wonder of the portal being opened. It felt like a force of nature they did not understand being shaped right before them and even though they were jaded about most things, they could not help being awed by what they saw when the gate came alive.

Once the wormhole was established, Teal’c immediately beckoned them forward as he started towards the steps leading to the mouth of the gate. Wasting no time because in truth, they were all eager to leave this place and return to the familiar surroundings of home, Buck and JD immediately hurried towards it while Josiah and Nathan gathered Ezra into their arms and carried him forward. Teal’c waited for them to arrive, as always keeping an eye on the surrounding area for any danger that might unexpectedly emerge at the last minute. His staff weapon was poised to fire as he saw Buck and JD step up to the wormhole, taking a deep breath before finally disappearing into its sparkling depths. Josiah and Nathan did not show any trepidation when it came time from them to enter, because their primary concern was for their friend and reaching the sarcophagus that would save his life.

When the men from the Tau’Ri’s past had finally left Netjer, Teal’c stepped through the gate itself.

It was impossible to describe the journey that takes a man apart to the subatomic level and then spirit him across the galaxy in a matter of seconds. Some have described it like one was being born. Other have voiced a feeling of gratitude towards life as one steps through the other end of the portal and sees that he is the same even though a minute ago, he was nothing more than infinitesimal particles of energy whizzing across space time. Some are changed by it, others try to forget but most retain the memory of cosmic oneness that perhaps for a very brief second, all things were apart of one grand creation.

Certainly Buck Wilmington felt this way when he opened his eyes and found himself in the cavern they had left almost a day ago. Nothing inside the structure was disturbed. Fortunately, no one had come to investigate why Doctor Faulkner and his team of archaeologists had not been heard from for the last day and for that matter, where the seven lawmen of Four Corners had disappeared to as well. It gave Buck a great sense of comfort to know their horses were waiting outside and Four Corners was just a few miles down the track with Inez going about her business, waiting for their child to be born.

"We’re back!" JD cried out enthusiastically, even though Teal’c appeared surprised the young man might have believed any differently. They were all getting back their bearings a little because they were not yet acclimatised to gate travel and the biting cold after effects could still be felt through their clothes even though there was a warm summery heat beyond this cavern.

"Thank God for that." Buck exclaimed with a smile.

"Save the thanks for later," Nathan said crisply as he shook the disorientation from his head and snapped back to full alertness since Ezra could not afford to wait for him to endure a lengthy recovery. "We need to get him into that thing."

"Nathan Jackson is correct," Teal’c answered in complete agreement because he too could see the human that wwas sadistically tortured by Sekhmet was very near the end. "You will bring him to the sarcophagus while I prepare it for his use."

Buck let out a deep sigh and thought inwardly to himself as they prepared for the task at hand.

Yep, they were home all right but as usual, things were far from right.

 


	9. The Hammer

The most prolific thing Jack O’Neill remembered about the cavernous enclave that led to the Hammer of Thor was the smell.

It was not the kind of smell one normally associated with caves, where there was a slight whiff of the dry and old but a stench that was distinct and remained in the mind like a bitter aftertaste. Jack could afford to be more descriptive on his second visit, since the memory was reinforced with reality. Its stench was not at all dry, but moist and wet, like the slimy things that slithered across moss covered rocks in the dark. It was the stench of decay and decomposition, not merely of the rock as water seeped through it from the river that found its origins in this mountain but of flesh and things dying in the blackness of its damp corners.

The temperature inside the craggy passageway was cool but not uncomfortable, yet every human walking the darkened tunnel could feel a slight chill running through them. Even through his uniform, Jack could feel it and he knew it was not just anticipation of what was going to happen when they reached the hammer or the ominous existence of the Unas, yet to emerge from its hibernation somewhere inside this place. It felt eerie, as if the sinister presence of every Goa’uld lured here were watching them with bitterness at the new arrivals soon to join their ranks. Jack wondered how many of the Goa’uld had held out over the centuries, battling hunger and isolation,  to avoid taking their chances with the hammer? Had they wandered these halls as Jack and his party were doing now, hoping and praying for some way out? Did they in their last minutes, call upon the deities worshipped by their race? That’s an interesting question, Jack thought to himself.  Who do the Gods pray to in their darkest hours?

When Apophis died, the Goa’uld had called upon no heavenly deity to make his passage easier even though the fear of the dying to come, was apparent in his wizened face. Jack had never seen the process of freeing the host from its symbiote, because it was interrupted when the hammer was working its worst on Teal’c. He wondered with morbid curiosity what was in store for them when they finally arrived. In any case, it would not be for a few hours yet because the Goa’ulds in captivity were not making the journey any easier, despite the necessity for haste. Sekhmet was being particularly difficult and Jack had a feeling if it would not alert the Unas to their presence with her screaming, Chris Larabee would have already shot her with the zat gun.

Of course she probably knew this too, which was why she was so unafraid of provoking a response from the gunslinger. Having seen the body, which Sekhmet had taken, it was easy to understand why Chris was so determined to get his wife back. She was a beautiful woman and Jack could easily imagine running his fingers through that cascade of golden hair. Such was the same with Isis, except Vin Tanner’s feelings were easier to read while Chris Larabee’s emotional state was impossible to tell. Jack remembered reading about gunslingers in his childhood days. After all who didn’t want to be John Wayne as a kid? Yet looking at this man, Jack knew Chris probably avoided a number of gunfight by the sheer force of his presence. He exuded menace by the way he stared with those ice-coloured eyes and in the stealthy language of his body.

Jack just knew if Chris Larabee said he was going to kill you, chances are you were dead already, your body just didn't know it.

While Sekhmet’s determination was to be as much trouble to Chris as she could manage, the Goddess of All was surprisingly subdued and far more lethal. Jack was certain the reason for her restraint had to do with her formulating some kind of a plan of escape, although at the moment, the possibility seemed rather remote with her being slung over Vin Tanner’s shoulder like a sack of rice. The tracker was taking no chances of anything interrupting their progress to the hammer, especially any wayward attempts to escape.

"Have you seen your wife at all?" Vin asked of Daniel as they took the path over the craggy floor of the tunnel they were passing through. In the background, they could hear the insistent pitter-patter of water against rock; probably seeping through a fissure created over a thousand years of steady erosion.

Daniel did not look at Vin as he answered, composing himself at the automatic disappointment he felt whenever he thought of Sharee.

"Once." He swallowed hard, remembering the occasion and felt the stab of pain knowing he had delivered a child from Sharee that should have been theirs but was the progeny of Apothesis when Sharee had been taken by Ahmonet. Since children born to Goa’uld hosts were often still born if the symbiote were in control, for a brief time Daniel had regained his wife when he discovered her on Abydos. However, no sooner than the child was born, Ahmonet resumed control once more and Daniel had last seen Sharee stepping through the gate with Apophis at her side. "I think of her sometimes. I wonder what’s going on inside her mind.  Whether some part of her still exists that remembers what we were."

Vin did not speak, purposely ignoring the woman he was carrying in his arms as he understood with perfect clarity what Daniel was suffering.

"I thought I could reach her." Vin responded after a moment. "I thought if I could just speak to her once, she’d remember me but she didn’t." Vin raised his eyes and met Daniel’s gaze. "She killed me, didn’t she?"

Daniel did not know what to say. He had no wish to give Vin information like that but then Vin did not appear to be distraught or angry and somewhere inside him, Daniel felt he  had the right to know.

"Yeah." He nodded quietly, glad Jack was out of earshot because the colonel would surely be furious at that piece of news being revealed to the tracker. "We had to put you in the sarcophagus or else…"

"I felt it." Vin answered, recalling the stark terror when he had risen inside that tomb and thought for one terrible moment he was buried alive. Only after the heavy lid slid open and he climbed out of there, did he dare to believe differently and yet, the moment he looked into his friends' faces as he emerged, he knew he had not simply been injured. Vin did not pretend to understand the intricacies of life and death but he knew to them, he had been dead, He remembered the nothingness that came when her hands wrapped themselves around his throat. "I ain’t never been dead before but I’m real grateful to you and your friends for helping me out of it. I ain’t afraid of dying, I just wouldn’t have liked it too much if it happened before I could help her."

"She must be something." Daniel smiled and knew he felt the same way about Sharee. He would gladly die if it meant freeing her from her prison.

"Yeah, trouble," Vin chuckled. "But she’s the best thing that’s happened to me and I couldn’t stand knowing she was locked up in hell forever."

"Well the hammer works." Daniel said with some measure of confidence. "I met a woman who went through it and she recovered. She had the Goa’uld ability Sam has but without the technology, your Alex never has to worry about it."

"Will she remember?" 

"It depends," Daniel answered, looking upon the question from a scholarly point of view more than anything else because he knew of no other way to answer it. "Kendra, the woman who went through the hammer, said she remembered because her mind was very disciplined. Sam recalls some of the things she did but not all. I think it depends on the individual, trained intellects seemed to remember better the most. Your Alex was a doctor?"

"Yeah," Vin nodded proudly. "She weren’t no sawbones or nothing, she did all the fancy book learning and had papers that said she went to all these doctoring schools in England."

"She might remember," the linguist ventured to guess, upon learning the intelligence of the woman and then added. "Although it’s probably better if she doesn’t."

"I’m hoping she doesn’t." The tracker replied. "I sure ain’t intending on reminding her if I get her back."

"That’s good," Daniel agreed when suddenly, they heard something like the splash of water in the distance. The sound of it echoed through the tunnels, rushing up at them from some unseen place inside the cavern. Immediately, Daniel and Vin froze in their tracks and noticed just how far Chris and Jack were behind them. Even though they could hear the footsteps of the rest of their party, Vin and Daniel were similarly anxious until they saw the duo turn up the path.

"Did you hear that?" Daniel asked first.

"We heard it." Chris replied. "It came from back there somewhere."

"Not too far behind," Vin stated, able to estimate something of the distance from years of experience.

They had encountered an underground pool some time back and while it was hardly what one would call a rushing waterway, it had enough depth to make a noise like that. He recalled how apprehensive Jack was when they crossed it, particularly after they found the first evidence of human bones, intermingling with the crushed skeletal structure of a Goa’uld symbiote. Even Isis and Sekhmet who had seen the remains were unable to hide their own fear, especially when they were bereft of their formidable weapons and their freedom. Vin had been certain there was something beneath the murky waters but time had been pressing on them and Jack did not want to disturb anything in residence, into emerging from its black depths.

"We should pick up the pace." Jack instructed. "I’d like to avoid running into it if we can."

"Vin put her down," Chris instructed. "She’s got as much to lose as the thing that’s coming after us if she tries to slow us down."

Vin seemed to agree and he placed Isis on the ground once again. She threw him an angry glare because that was about as much response she was capable of producing with her hands tied up and a gag placed securely around her. Judging by the look of her, she was not going to make their advance towards the hammer any easier but Vin had made up his mind she was not going to hamper their progress. As he had said to Daniel earlier, if it was the last thing he did, he was going to see to it Alex was free of the creature that imprisoned her inside her own body.

Chris had to maintain a constant grip on Sekhmet who had made several attempts already to detach herself from the group in order to hide in the maze of tunnels inside the mountain. Chris knew if he were to allow that to happen, they would never find her before the creature roaming these tunnels stumbled upon her first. He believed she was spiteful enough to let the beast kill her just to prevent Mary from being free. With that in mind, Chris dealt with the warrior goddess most ruthlessly, finding  it easy now to bridge the gap that kept him from acting as he should, because he no longer saw Mary when he looked at Sekhmet, but rather her abductor and possible murder.

"How far do we have to go?" Chris asked Jack who knew these tunnels better than all of them.

"Another hour or so." Jack replied automatically, remembering the path taken to the hammer and made a safe estimate since it was difficult to gauge against the previous occasion he was here, because they were lost at the time.

"Good," Chris answered, giving Sekhmet a cold stare as he shoved her forward to get her moving again. "The sooner this gets done the better." He muttered as they continued their trek through the darkness. " I want this over with."

* * *

It could smell them.

Their scent lingered in the air, heavy with salt and the sweet enticement of blood, pulsing warmth through their veins. The life was like a beacon to it, strong and blinding, filing every corner of its slumbering consciousness, prodding and poking until wakefulness returned once again. This time, it awoke from the darkness where it lived most days, from the time it first arrived here, so very long ago. It could not remember a time before this place, when there was sunlight…(was that the word?) above its head and he could see the brightness of the…..it could not remember, knowing only that it had been warm and good.

It had no sense of self that made it a normal Goa’uld host. The years of isolation inside this dark hell of dripping water and sunless tunnels had driven the sanity from the symbiote and it lived inside the host as a creature of madness, angered and pining the days when they were both godlike and supreme. Their deification had been stripped in this place and the Goa’uld no longer spoke in its mind so it was completely alone, alone with this insatiable hunger that never seemed to cease. Eventually, it learned how to slip away from wakefulness into the hibernation native to its species, for great lengths of time, arising only when food was needed.

It was been easy to kill the first Goa’uld that came after it. The fact the host was different had made it all the more easier. It had been aware its time was past even before it was brought here. The coming of the human hosts had been foreseen for some time now and it was not particularly upset its time was past. It cared for little except the eating and humans with their hairless bodies and soft skin were extremely _good_ eating. It had paused a moment as it saw the symbiote squirming in the entrails of an exposed abdomen, knowing inwardly it was wrong but the instance faded with the yearning for food. By the time its teeth plunged into the soft flesh of the Goa’uld in its grip, it felt as if it  had never been wrong.

It would feed well on host and symbiote and then return to its slumber, taking refuge in some forgotten corner that was moist and dark. It liked those things because it harked back to memories before the Goa’uld, when its entire existence was the hunting and the feeding in a place that was always dark and wet, where the Goa’uld were not gods at all. Those days were vague, like some far off distant dream it sometimes had whilst in slumber. As the passage of time lengthened, the more unreal those memories became to be and it seemed this place was the only reality there had ever been.

Today was different though.

It could smell the scent of fresh prey with its sharp senses. Their hearts pounded with life and those beats were strong and powerful, signalling the pleasure of challenge in the hunt. It did so like it when there was a hunt before capture, for it broke the monotony before the time when hibernation would come for it again. It did not live under water even though it spent most of its time there and sleep had made its senses dull, for it took time for the scent to reach it in its hiding place. However, now that it detected the existence of the scent, it felt its aged body renewed for the hunt and it emerged from the corner of the rock pool the humans had passed by earlier.

Anyone who might bear witness to the Unas awakening would have seen a flurry of movement in the shadows, culminating in the languid extension of limbs climbing out from the water’s edge. The shape of the creature was bipedal for the Goa’uld liked their hosts that way. Fully armoured, it was formidable even before the Goa’uld had taken its body. Thick hides, rivalling the alligators and the salt water crocodiles of the First World, covered its body but it was highly evolved for it had hands and more importantly fully functional digits and an opposable thumb. The Unas in question climbed over the rock like any reptile born to it.

It reached the edge of the pool and climbed out of the dark water, glistening with moisture as it rose to its full height. Like a sleeping giant, it flexed powerful muscles, shaking the slumber of dormancy out of its body, like a big dog might shake the water from its back after a particularly wet day. Its movement for its size was silent, for other than the splash of water created upon its emergence, there was no other sound. It stretched and looked abound, nictitating eyelids blinking first before its eyes shifted into focus and concentrated on the smell that brought it to life in the first place.

It was not difficult for it to pick up the trail of the new arrivals to Thor’s mountain.

Their noises could be heard, in their footsteps and even in their speech. It estimate they were some distance away and knew it need not hasten to catch up to them, aware from year of experience no Goa’uld arriving here attempted the Hammer at first encounter. They would wander about the mountain aimlessly, sometimes for weeks, searching for an alternate route out of the mountain the Asgard might be unaware. The Goa’uld part of the Unas who still maintained most of its reasoning capabilities, knew it was a futile effort. Sumeria remained untouched by its kind because the Asgard were extremely thorough. There was no way out.

However, the Goa’ulds who came here always tried, like it was some kind of ritual they needed to undergo before they could accept the impossibility of escape. Some searched for months, growing hungrier and hungrier as the basic sustenance, as Thor called it, dwindled. It was never enough to support more than one or two Goa’uld at a time. Mosses and lichens were not the food of choice of the gods and yet that was all there seemed to be in abundance here. The Asgards were not good jailers but then the Hammer was never about captivity, it was about execution. It was the best kind of execution really. The death was never forced, but chosen by those who died. Those who could not tolerate one more second of captivity, in their delirium and mania to escape, often deluded themselves into believing that perhaps, they would be the one who could best the Hammer.

Anything to end the torture.

But the Hammer always won.

So as far as the Unas was concerned, it was in no particular hurry because the new arrivals would be going nowhere and if they chose to wander about foolishly in an effort to find alternate means of escape, then it would simply make the hunt more interesting. In any case, it was only a matter of time before it fed again.

And then it would sleep.

* * *

Ezra Standish woke up thinking it had all been a dream.

For a moment after he had opened his eyes and realised the agony of his wounds had vanished, he almost believed none of what he experienced was real. A part of him wanted that to be the truth more than anything in the world, that the notion of alien worlds, stolen bodies and abominations were a product of an over active imagination. As the images of the past two days flooded in his memory, from Mary Travis becoming some dark angel of pain until the last instance of lucidity he where he had stood over the birthing pool of his demonic progeny, Ezra prayed he was locked in some impossible nightmare.

Except he knew better.

When he woke up and found himself enclosed on all sides, feeling as if he was entombed, there was no fear in his heart, just acceptance this was merely an extension of the nightmare, one he was no longer willing to fight. Ezra had almost accepted being buried alive if that would mean an end to it all because he could tolerate the horror no more. The walls of his prison were cool against his skin and as he examined his  hands with rising confusion, he could not help feel some wonder at the unbroken skin of his face and his body. Somehow, the wounds were gone as well as the pain that came with it. He felt restful, as if he had emerged from a deep sleep, which only served to add fuel to the belief everything he experienced was a dream.

Suddenly as if it were aware he was conscious as well as healed, the heavy lid keeping him entombed began moving, sliding away with the grinding noise native only to stone and allowed him freedom from his confinement. Ezra swallowed hard, as he saw no sky above him but the darkness of an uneven rock-ceiling overhead. It took him a fraction of a second to realise where he was and he quickly sat up to make sure what he suspected was real and not apart of the nightmare he thought he was still having. The evidence was undeniable. He was indeed in the cavern where this entire experience began. In the centre of the chamber, the circle of stone was holding court over all other objects and structures in the room. He studied closely the place he was lying in and was reminded absurdly for a moment of those Egyptian tombs he had seen in books as a youth.

For a few minutes after the lid had slid open, Ezra was uncertain of what he should do. He knew he was inside the cavern unearthed by Faulkner and his archaeology team but how he had come to be here was a mystery. He had a vague memory of hearing Buck Wilmington’s voice but knew it was impossible and had to be fragments of a hallucination. At the time it appeared in his head, Ezra knew he was badly injured and still reeling from what he found in that black pool in Isis’s fortress. Finally, when he was unable to endure the lack of answers, Ezra forced himself upright and became aware of other things, now he allowed himself to take greater stock of his surroundings.

It was nightfall because the only source of illumination inside the cave was coming from a campfire not very far from the ring of stone. Centering his concentration on the fire cackling softly as it consumed the pieces of wood it used for fuel, Ezra almost let out a gasp of relief when he saw familiar faces except for one sitting around the fire. Buck Wilmington was pacing the space before the flames  with typical impatience, kicking up a small cloud of dust as he did so. Josiah was stoking the pieces of wood in the fire; the soft amber glow bouncing off the lines of his face and showing the depth of concern he was trying to hide from everyone else. JD fidgeted uncomfortably where he sat, as if the constant movement would make the time go faster. It did nothing of the kind and merely agitated Nathan who was growing more annoyed as he watched this persistent display.

Ezra closed his eyes; never feeling more relieved at seeing them. He knew why Vin Tanner was not present because Ezra had seen him die and felt a pang of sorrow at that, particularly in light of what Isis took from him. He noticed Chris Larabee was absent too and would not be surprised if he learned Chris too was dead because Sekhmet would have had to go through him to take Ezra and Chris would have died, before allowing anyone to take one of his men against their will.

Slowly, he stood up and climbed out of the golden tomb or whatever it was.  Ezra had no name for it. He noticed the gilded plating on its surface and the intricate carvings, very much Egyptian the more he examined it. Those questions could wait he decided, he needed to see his friends and have them tell him he was not dreaming. He needed to know this was no momentary respite before he woke up and found himself in the hell of that other world. He was clad only in his trousers and would have felt inordinately uncomfortable about approaching them in such a state if this were anything but extraordinary circumstances. All he wanted to do at this moment was to see his friends before this dream ended.

"Your friend is awake." Teal’c announced as he heard the shuffled sounds of bare feet against the dirt approaching their location.

Buck was on his way there before Teal’c had finished the sentence, crossing the space between himself and Ezra with the others following. Buck was grinning from ear to ear as he saw Ezra walking towards them slowly, the ordeal he endured evident in every ginger step forward. Buck had not forgotten how he had looked when they put him inside the sarcophagus and did not relish explaining to the gambler the true nature of his experience. However, considering what the man had suffered, he had a right to know and besides, Teal’c in any shape of form was going to be difficult to avoid explaining.

"Ezra!" Buck almost hugged the man in joy at seeing him alive and well.

"Mr Wilmington," Ezra croaked as he felt himself nearly lifted off the ground from the enthusiastic bear hug and the numerous pat on the back and well wishes descending upon him like an artillery barrage. "Please desist in this embarrassing display. I am sure you can express your gratitude at seeing me without the pleasure of a few broken ribs."

"Well I’m glad to see you too." Buck said continuing to grin after he said the smaller man down and started towards the campfire once again.

"Its good to see you Ezra," Josiah added squeezing his shoulder. "We thought we lost you brother."

The sincerity Ezra saw in all their faces affected the gambler more than he would like to admit and for a moment Ezra Standish was at a loss for words to express how much their friendship meant to him, particularly when he was grateful to be alive. "You were not alone in that assertion Mr Sanchez," Ezra replied, hiding the emotion out of his voice because it was not his way to display it for all to see, not after a lifetime of playing the indifferent bystander. "I was starting to believe I might be required to shed my mortal coil."

"Well we got some coffee brewing," Nathan responded, ever the physician of the group. "You hungry? We thought you might need something to eat after what you been through."

"I gather you brought me back here." Ezra asked, starting to believe that the nightmare was well and truly over.

"It wasn’t easy," Buck explained, glancing at Teal’c who had remained silent during this time. "We owe a lot to this fella here and his friends for getting you back in one piece Ezra."

Ezra glanced at the stranger who had remained silent during all this and knew instantly he was not of this world and came from the one left behind. The gambler tensed immediately, feeling fear creep up his spine so quickly it almost choked the air from his lungs. The symbol on the man’s forehead, though different from those worn by her guards, looked like something required by Isis and her kind. During his captivity, he was told almost nothing about his situation and had to guess most of it. Ezra had known he was on another world only because he recognised the unfamiliarity of the constellations outside the window of his cell and what Sekhmet had chose to tell him in her desire to demoralise him. He understood nothing of what had happened to him or why, and until he did, could never again rest easy.

"Tell me," he said quietly, his voice becoming almost a whisper when the question escaped him. His eyes were fixed on Teal’c because he could not decide whether the man was friend or foe at this moment, despite the trust placed upon him by the others.

"Buck," JD gestured to the big man to explain and judging by the uncomfortable look on Josiah and Nathan, they all seem to agree that Buck should be the one to answer Ezra’s questions. "You tell him."

Buck nodded because he could see that Ezra needed to know desperately. Even though he was trying to hide it, they could all see the hollow expression in his eyes he was trying so hard to shield from them. Buck took a deep breath and made Ezra sit down and saw to it that Ezra had some food in his belly and a cup of coffee before he began relating the events that transpired after Ezra was taken through the stargate by Isis and Sekhmet. Buck explained everything the best he could, describing their meeting with Jack O’Neill and his comrades, which included the man called Teal’c, sitting the campfire with them. He described the journey through the gate to the strange world where men were scarce and women were living in fear of Jaffa guards wearing lion masks over their faces.

Buck related everything they were told about the Goa’uld and how Vin was restored to them through the same device that healed Ezra’s injuries, lying in the corner of the cavern. Ezra seemed to accept everything he was told rather stoically, even to the end when they revealed where Chris and Vin were at this moment, taking Isis and Sekhmet to a place called Sumeria.  Something called the hammer would remove the Goa’uld from the women they loved. Ezra listened and said nothing, taking note of the fact Buck seemed to think Isis had not succeeded in getting what she wanted from him even though they all knew he was taken for breeding purposes. It was just as well, he had no desire to explain how Isis had taken his seed. He was humiliated enough. 

"An incredible tale." Ezra said after a long while.

"Every word of it is true though Ezra," JD spoke up, as if feeling some need to come to Buck’s defence even though it was a redundant gesture. Ezra had seen enough of that other world to believe every word. 

"Considering where I have been for the last two days," Ezra remarked, meeting all their gazes as his eyes swept across their faces. "I am hardly about to disbelieve you."

"Your presence here is proof of that." Teal’c declared.

"Mr Teal’c," Ezra nodded in agreement. "I cannot refute that and I thank you for your foresight in bringing me to a speedy recovery. I would not have enjoyed a lengthy convalescence."

Teal’c accepted his gratitude with a slight nod and Ezra had the impression the man was not one for many words.

"I don’t know whether you would have had to worry about one Ezra," Nathan said honestly. After what he had seen of the injuries on the gambler, the healer knew it would have taken all his knowledge to repair the wounds Ezra had endured and even then, his chances of survival would have been little more than average. In truth, the sarcophagus might have saved his life as surely as it had restored Vin Tanner’s. "You were hurt mighty bad, I didn’t think you were going to pull through. What happened to you anyway?"

"Was it Isis?" Buck inquired. "Did she do that to you so that you’d help her make more of those monsters?" There was no reason for Buck to be specific on just how that was to be done since they all felt it to be a distasteful subject enough as it was.

Ezra swallowed, suddenly flooded with images of tearing pain and warm blood coursing down his skin. The screams that rang in his ears had been his own and it took all his strength to remain calm and not go completely to pieces as he remembered the pain Sekhmet inflicted upon him. The tortures and degradations were best forgotten and yet Ezra knew they would be sharing his nights for a long time to come. He closed his eyes to suppress the memories to an acceptable level so he could function without losing any semblance of composure in front of his friends. 

"Ezra," Josiah interrupted quickly, seeing the shift in Ezra’s pallor when the question was asked of him. "You don’t have to talk about it brother," he said sympathetically, being a preacher long enough to recognise trauma when he saw it. The gambler was barely holding it together and after years of friendship, Josiah knew he must have been suffering considerably if he could not maintain that façade of cool deliberation they had all come to know so well. Ezra would cast his demons out eventually but not right now. "In fact, I think it would be a good idea if Nathan and JD took you back to town."

"Thank you, I would actually prefer that at this time." Ezra said gratefully, flashing a look of unspoken thanks at the man for his empathy. Ezra was not ready to talk about his ordeal and was uncertain whether he would ever want to discuss what had happened to him in Isis’s fortress. At the moment, he needed a drink so badly he could barely think and he needed to be away from here. He needed to get the keys Julia had given him to her house, so he could bury himself in her bed with her scent was all around him so it would cradle him to sleep.

"That’s a good idea," Nathan agreed, seeing the same distress in Ezra’s face and decided no one was putting him through the ordeal of remembering until he was ready to do so. "JD, go get his horse ready would ya?"

"Sure Nathan," JD rose to his feet, eager to help Ezra in any way because that forlorn look in the gambler’s eyes was not lost upon him either. He wanted Ezra back the way he was; supremely confident about everything, not the wreck he appeared to be now.

Buck watched quietly as Ezra was taken out of the cavern and did not speak until they heard the horses riding away into the distance. When the hoof beats had faded into the night, Buck turned back to Josiah and Teal’c.

"What in God’s name did that bitch do to him?"

* * *

The Hammer stood before them.

Despite the best efforts of Isis and Sekhmet to be as much of a hindrance as possible in the journey to their final judgement, the humans managed to make good time. With the possibility of the Unas making an appearance, they had every reason to be hasty in their progress through the mountain. As expected, Sekhmet proved to be the greatest difficulty, having broken free a number of times in an effort to lose herself in the labyrinthine maze of tunnels that twisted and turned at every corner. Eventually, Chris and Jack had taken to flanking her on either side and dragging her along when she chose to be particularly difficult.

The Goa’uld made her strong enough to be a match for any man but with the two of them determined not to let her escape, using all the strength they could muster to maintain their hold of her, she was helpless. Trapped in this way with no possibility of another attempt at flight, Sekhmet was powerless to do much else but grunt and make guttural sounds of anger and rage through the gag Chris was not about to remove for any reason. Much of what she had said so viciously during their battle had penetrated even though he showed no signs of it, and he would not give the Goa’uld the satisfaction of such knowledge.

It was the natural way of things for women to be mothers and wives, restrained by convention and so many rules that did not apply to men. Despite her venom, Sekhmet had been right. Mary and the others like her deserved the freedom to live as men lived, without being judged at every turn.

If the Hammer could do everything Jack said it could then Chris was determined Mary would never have to worry about being a slave to convention. He wanted her to write her book and be the success she could be without having to worry about her duties at home as wife and mother. As long as they loved each other, what were all those things but incidental?

"That’s it?" Vin looked unimpressed at the exit to the mountain that was shaped more like an arrow than a hammer, even though he could sort of see the resemblance. While it felt good to see the daylight outside the mountain, Vin could not imagine how such a thing would be able to remove the Goa’uld from inside Alex. Still, while he asked the question, he noticed Isis had become more desperate in her attempts to break free of his grip.

"That’s it." Daniel nodded, hoping some day he would find himself in the same position Vin did, being able to bring Sharee back to this place so that they could accomplish what the tracker was about to do so now.

"Should we wait for Sam?" Daniel asked as he looked over his shoulder at Jack.

"Not with that thing in here with us." Jack said automatically. "Take her through." 

Vin nodded slowly and took a step forward when Isis started struggling furiously, she kicked and screamed through her gag, fighting him so violently he could barely restrain her, the closer they got to the passage way. Daniel rushed forward to help him, aware this was never going to be easy to do and hoping when it was his turn, he would have friends like Vin Tanner did now, to help him. Vin was forced to wrap his arms around Isis and pick her up bodily to continue the rest of the journey. Her legs were kicking out hard, trying to find anyway to stop the advance even though it seemed like a hopeless cause. Her gag came free in her struggles and Vin’s red scarf sagged around her neck as she started shouting.

"You cannot do this!" She pleaded. "You are condemning us to die!"

"Ignore her Vin!" Chris ordered, seeing the uncertainty cross the young tracker’s face. This was the only way to free Alex but hearing the frantic cries of Isis using her voice as she begged for freedom was beginning to effect Vin, despite his best efforts not to be swayed. He closed his eyes and tried to force out the sound as he reached the hammer and passed through it.

Nothing happened.

He looked up at Jack and Daniel in question, about to demand what trickery was this when he took another step forward and Isis was finally past the threshold. The surge of energy that activated abruptly the moment she crossed over, was enough to drive any further doubt from his mind. He fell backwards as she tensed violently, exuding a surge of strength in her spasming body to break free of both Daniel and him. Vin fell over on the other side of the cavern, transfixed as he watched Thor’s Hammer doing its work.

She jerked about like a puppet on a string, with a handler who was unskilled at the art. Isis started screaming, her hands travelling to her head as if the pain was centred there. Her eyes were wide open as the pain hit her in waves and waves of unyielding agony. She was locked in the energy field as if she were a fly caught in amber, struggling futilely to escape even though her fate was sealed the moment she had passed through the threshold. Her screams soon descended into shrieks of excruciating agony and hearing her cry out was like listening to a wailing wind with the ability to tear out their souls with each pitiful whimper.

Vin scrambled to her, almost undone by the sounds that she was making. He watched in as much pain, as her face contorted into a rictus of agony. He whole body was shaking as the strange glowing did its worst upon her. She was incoherent with the white-hot agony that was tearing her mind asunder, too lost in its grip to now even beg or plead for help. Vin stared at her, his own features twisting up in sorrow at having to make her endure this and prayed she might forgive him because it was done out of the very best of intentions.

"I can’t let her go through this!" Vin shouted defiantly to the others, even though he knew he had to if he wanted Alex back.

"Stay where you are!" Jack ordered firmly and with such command in his voice Vin had no choice but to obey him. Only Chris was able to exert that much influence over the tracker before this moment. However, the look on Chris’s face more or less conveyed the same message to Vin. Whatever this thing was that Alex/Isis was presently enduring, it had to run its course or else they might lose both.

Isis was still screaming when suddenly, she dropped to her knees abruptly and a new set of convulsions started racking her body with equal violence. Her upper torso seemed to quake violently, shuddering and shaking as it moved into a new kind of pain. Her hands went to her throat as she started coughing loudly, saliva and a little blood starting to foam at her lips. She doubled over, hunching over before the hacking became more strained and her body started to quake from the ferocity of it. She was holding her throat and her stomach, appearing as if she was going to be violently ill when suddenly, she coughed out loud in one powerful gasp.

Vin saw it first. It moved up her throat, pressing against the flesh of her neck like ripples in water. As both palms touched the ground, pressing firmly against the dirt as her body braced itself, Vin saw the trickles of saliva and blood oozing from her mouth. In one final shudder, it escaped her mouth like an explosion of blood and flesh. Vin’s stomach knotted in disgust as the Goa’uld made its emergence. The creature dropped on the soil before her was possibly the most horrific thing Vin had ever seen. It was like a snake but not quite. For a moment, Vin thought he might throw up.

"Jesus Christ." Vin heard Chris Larabee mutter in unconcealed disgust.

"It works!" Daniel exclaimed excitedly, even if the moment was wrong for it.

Alex was barely conscious of anything and upon ejecting the creature that used her body for all kinds of heinous acts, collapsed against the ground now she was free. Vin crawled towards her and pulled her away from the hammer. She was not conscious and he was glad for that fact. Her body was covered in sweat, blood and saliva and her breathing was ragged and strained. After what she suffered, he could hardly imagine she be anything else. He used the scarf around her neck to wipe the blood and saliva from her lips, almost to the point of tears himself because she was still alive. There was a terrible moment when he saw her in the throes of agony, he actually believed Thor’s Hammer would free her by ending her life. There were no words to describe how he felt that it had not.

Instinctively, his gaze joined the others as they stared in silent fascination and horror at what was happening to the Goa’uld forced from its host. The creature continued to struggle under the powerful energy field of Thor’s Hammer. It was not dead yet but that conclusion was not far away. Even as it writhed and slithered frantically in its vulnerable state, they could tell that its struggles were abating in their intensity. Its mouth opened, exposing the pink innards as it screamed soundlessly in pain as the Asgard weapon drove the life from its body. Eventually, its struggles began to weaken, losing strength with each frantic movement its elongated form tried to make in the desperate bid for life.

Finally, after an eternity of minutes had passed, the Goa’uld’s movements dwindled to a few random twitches and spasms and then moved no more. For the seconds after its death, no one could say anything, not even Sekhmet who would be forced to take the same journey in a matter of minutes. They could only stare at the small, benign life form capable of causing hurt to so many. Chris had expected something more formidable but then wondered why he should have thought the creature inside Mary and Alex would be any different. It was a parasite after all, completely useless without the body it manipulated.

"Is she okay?" Chris finally found his voice and asked Vin who was on the other side of the hammer, cradling Alex in his arms.

Vin looked up and nodded,  the emotion in his usually unflappable manner exposed in his expressive blue eyes.

"Yeah pard," he swallowed away the lump of happiness in his throat. "She’s okay. She’s out but she’s alive."

"Guess what?" Jack looked at Sekhmet. "It’s your turn on the dance floor."

Sekhmet was breathing hard, her black hatred staring back at them both as Chris and he started walking towards the Hammer. She resisted their efforts to drag her forward, which was hardly surprising after what she had just seen it do to Isis. She threw her head from side to side as she kicked and struggled to keep from being taken to the Hammer, her screams penetrating the gag over her mouth until the chamber filled with the sounds of her desperation.

It was Daniel who saw the Unas appear out of the shadows of the previous chamber. The creature was as huge as he remembered it, with teeth bared and talons brandished, preparing to make a meal of all of them. Its low, rumbling roar effectively eclipsed the sounds of Sekhmet’s screams and she immediately felt silent at the sight of its approach behind them.

"Holy shit!" Chris exclaimed as he saw the creature that looked like a walking swamp ‘gator except this one seemed to be a lot meaner, not to mention bigger as well.

"Shoot it!" Jack ordered Daniel who was still standing there, gawking at it.

Jack’s voice kick started Daniel’s own mental processes and the linguist immediately pulled out his handgun and started firing into the chest of the creature. It staggered backwards as the multiple bullets tore through the dark skin. Jack released his grip of Sekhmet and hurried to help Daniel, knowing a handgun was not going to be adequate. Even though the Unas had been driven back slightly, it was by no means done. Jack had seen the things take at least three or four direct hits with a staff weapon before finally succumbing and all they had right now were conventional projectile weapons.

"Chris, take her through!" Jack called out as he unslung his rifle from his shoulder and started firing an even more potent barrage of bullets at the creature.

Chris nodded wildly and continued towards the Hammer when Sekhmet decided to take advantage of the distraction and pull away from him. He lost his hold of her for only a second before she stepped back and tried to deliver a powerful kick. Chris sidestepped her and caught her leg, pulling her forward viciously and planting an equally powerful fist in her jaw. Her head snapped back as the blow was delivered and she staggered in his grip for a moment, disorientated by the force of the blow. Not releasing her leg as he dragged her towards the Hammer, Sekhmet had no choice but to be pulled along. She was still dazed when they reached the threshold.

He removed the gag from her mouth, knowing it was necessary after seeing how the Goa’uld would make its exit when the process was done. As soon as her mouth was free she tried to bite his hands but he pulled his fingers out of reach. Behind him, he could hear Jack and Daniel holding their own against the creature who was determined not to die. He had every intention of helping them but at the moment, he had to deal with her first.

"I guess this is goodbye." He said with a cruel sneer.

"I will kill her first." Sekhmet warned viciously but it was an impotent threat and they both knew it.

"You like pain so much," Chris smiled wickedly and shoved her straight into the Hammer’s threshold. "Think of this as one for the road."

"I’ll kill you!" She screamed as the energy field activated once again and trapped her in its grip. All thoughts of him were driven from her as the glow of Thor’s Hammer came alive around her. Sekhmet’s eyes were wild with fear and then the fear was dissipated when the pain started.

Chris turned away, knowing there was no way for her to escape now the Hammer had her in its possession. He did not need the experience of seeing her scream or writhe or suffer the agonies the Hammer would make her endure. He knew only Jack and Daniel needed his fire to add to their own. They had risked too much for him and Mary for Chris to do anything but help them. Without even having to ask the tracker, Chris knew that Vin would keep a close eye on Sekhmet while she was undergoing the process to bring Mary back to him.

The hail of bullets had driven the Unas back into the previous chamber and even though they need only wait a few minutes for the Hammer to expel Sekhmet from Chris Larabee’s wife, Jack knew the Unas recovered very quickly. Daniel was in the process of loading another clip into his automatic when Chris joined him and Jack. The gunslinger had the twentieth century armaments Jack provided and he had already proven himself in their flight from Isis's fortress he was more than capable of handling the weapon.

"Where is it?" Chris asked quietly. He was trying very hard to ignore Sekhmet’s screams behind him.

"It’s hiding out in there." Jack replied, trying to decide if it was better to go after it or maintain a vigil right where they were standing. The danger would pass the moment Sekhmet left Mary’s body. The Unas could no more pass through the hammer than any other Goa’uld, no matter what host it possessed. Besides if Carter was here, she would be quick to remind him they could not kill the thing because it would create the paradox that would keep it from dying in the Hammer a hundred and twenty odd years from now.

Sometimes, this whole thing with time travel could really make his head hurt.

"We’ll hold position here." He stated, making the decision once and for all. He did not believe for an instant their bullets could kill the thing and knew it was probably somewhere in the shadows, regenerating from the injuries sustained already. "We don’t need to go after it."

"I hate to say it but I’m with you there." Chris remarked, his eyes searching the darkened shadows of the previous chambers, trying to sight the creature they were fighting. He could see nothing of it even though he was certain he could hear its laboured breathing somewhere in the darkness. No doubt it was waiting to spring as soon as it recovered enough and was certain to get the drop on them as it had almost done earlier. Chris shuddered to think what would have happened if Daniel had not sighted the creature when he had. The kind of death it promised was one he could do without.

Sekhmet’s screams had stopped and now descended into gurgles of pain as the Hammer forced her from the body of the host. While Daniel and Jack kept an eye out for the creature, Chris turned his attention to his wife and saw she was now on her knees, her body performing the same dance of agony he saw Isis endure only a short time ago. Vin was still holding Alex in his arms but his eyes were fixed on Sekhmet’s trial through the Asgard device.

"Not like this!" She incredibly managed to scream through her pain. "I am a warrior! I will not die like this!"

Chris took one step forward, until he could almost touch her through the beam if he chose to. Her eyes were wide with agony but in them, he saw nothing of the fluidity of Mary’s soul. Instead, he saw an evil creature finally getting the punishment it deserved. He had no doubt throughout its existence, Sekhmet had been a butcher as Thor had claimed. When their eyes met, he found himself smiling.

"Like this." He said coldly. "Right now."

When she dropped to her knees, Chris knew the battle was over.

He watched her dispassionately, heaving and coughing as the Goa’uld symbiote was forced through her mouth in a surge of fluid and blood, splattering the ground with both as the creature landed on the dirt with a wet thud. Mary had keeled over on her side, almost as oblivious to her agonies as Alex now was. Chris immediately crossed through the energy field, taking note it did not harm him as he stepped over on the other side and started pulling Mary through the door.

"It’s done." Chris called out to Jack and Daniel to follow.

Both men looked over their shoulder and saw the confirmation of it with their own eyes. Without turning their backs on the entrance to the other chamber, Jack and Daniel started towards the Hammer, their guns pointed firmly ahead in case anything chose to emerge and give them any last minute surprises. Chris kept his own gun close even though he was busy with Mary at the moment. She was in the same state as Alex, unconscious and her lips covered in blood. Chris went through the motions of cleaning her up as Vin had done forAlex. The Goa’uld that was Sekhmet remained in the path of the Hammer, dying as its companion had done so.

Chris could not know what induced him to do it but he drew the Peacemaker from his holster and took careful aim. Squeezing off the shot, the bullet fairly exploded the part of the Goa’uld that might have been the creature’s head. Slivers of wet and bloody flesh splattered in a narrow radius around the body. Jack and Daniel stared at him without comment for a few seconds and then stepped through the threshold over the bloody remains.

"Feeling better?" Vin asked, not wishing to know what Sekhmet had done to Chris to engender such a vicious action.

"Yeah." Chris replied, looking down at Mary’s face. "I am _now_."

* * *

They did not have to wait long before Sam arrived with the horses provided to her by the Sumerians after some explanation regarding her origins. Sam informed the village elders she and travellers like herself had come through the gate and brought with them the evil Etns so Thor might pass his judgement upon them. Having been accustomed to numerous attempts by the Goa’uld to infiltrate Sumeria over the years, its native population was hardly surprised by the story or the fact she and the others were from Earth, the land they knew as Mittgard, the First World.

Alex and Mary were still unconscious and Daniel had explained this was normal. Kendra had told him she was found days after the extraction of her Goa’uld symbiote,  wandering around aimlessly before discovery. She had little memory of what happened to her after she had passed through the Hammer, recalling only the pain inflicted by the process. As Jack anticipated when he sent Sam to get the horses, neither Mary nor Alex were in any condition to walk the lengthy distance back to the gate following their ordeal and guessed Chris would want to go home as soon as possible. Jack could hardly blame him for that. What the man had endured was enough to make anyone wish for home. Indeed the colonel could understand the sentiment well enough, now that their mission to return Ezra Standish, Mary Travis Larabee and Alexandra Styles to their proper place in history was completed.

"So you got any ideas Carter?" Jack asked during the ride back to the gate. 

"Actually I do Sir," Sam said confidently having thought in length about the question since they first found out they were stranded a hundred and twenty years in Earth’s past.

"We’re all ears."

"I think when we get back to Earth, we should dial the Nox." Sam announced.

"They could help us." Daniel agreed seeing where she was going with this.

Next to the Asgard, the Nox were the most technologically advanced people they ever encountered. Not only did they have more knowledge about the gate than the SGC would ever have, Sam truly believed the Nox had the technology to recreate the accident that sent them to the past. "Their gate would still be open at this time."

"I have to admit that does sound sweet." Jack nodded in approval of that particular idea. "Carter, I have to hand it to you. You did good on this mission."

Sam blushed despite herself. "Thank you Sir."

"We all think so ma’am." Vin spoke up as he nudged the horse he was riding, closer to her. The saddle was a bit strange but like most men of the frontier, that was hardly an obstacle when it came to this form of transport. "I got to thank you for helping out Alex and Mary."

"I know what it was like to have one of those things inside me," Sam confessed quietly. "I wouldn’t wish that on anyone."

"So you got a way home?" Chris asked Jack, not liking the idea these people would be stranded here after all the help they had been in bringing Mary and Alex back to him and Vin.

"Yeah," Jack nodded. "The Nox are annoyingly nice and they think we’re not very smart, but like all responsible adults, they want to make sure us kids get back to where we’re supposed to be."

"Sounds like an interesting bunch of folks." Chris remarked with a smile, casting his gaze over the alien landscape before him and finding it was not at all what he would have envisioned another world to look like. The place reminded him of the open fields of Wyoming and Idaho, with its greenery and rolling hills. He supposed it was only natural that people travelling from Earth through the gate would try to find worlds that was as similar to their own as possible.

"You don’t know the half of it." Jack grinned and then remembered on a more serious note another matter that had to be put to rest before this entire experience could be a thing of the past for all of them. "There’s one other thing to do now that we’ve got the time to talk about it. We can’t leave the gate where it is after we’ve gone."

"What if you don’t get where you’re going, you won’t be able to get back." Vin stated, not liking to leave anyone stranded on an alien world when it was just as easy for them to come home.

"We can’t anyway." Sam spoke up. "Time’s a funny thing. We’re not meant to be in this era and anything we do might effect how it turns out in the future. If we can’t get back, we know enough worlds where we could stay and not be a danger to anyone."

"How do you propose we get rid of it?" Chris asked Jack, certain the man had a plan.

"The gate needs to be buried. As long as its where it is, the Goa’uld can come through and if you think the two you just got rid of were bad enough, you wait until a System Lord gets into his head to come after you with an army." Jack stated, determined Chris understood just what kind of danger they were talking about. "We’ve got explosives with us that have a little more kick then the dynamite you’re used to. Before we go, we’re going to wire the place up so that when they detonate, there won’t be anything left of the bunker or the gate."

"I can live with that." Chris declared, not wishing to go through anything like what he did the past two days.

"When we get to the future we can dig the gate up and put it some place safe." Daniel added. "It was not discovered in our time so it’s a safe bet that once we’ve destroyed the bunker, it will stay that way until we can recover it."

"It’s a pity," Vin found himself admitting reluctantly as his eyes travelled over the landscape, studying this new world and the hundreds like it, scattered across the stars. The explorer in his was tantalised about the idea of travelling to new places and discovering races no one had ever heard of. As he glanced briefly at Alex who was lying in his arms, still very much out of it, Vin knew she would have enjoyed it too. However, the threat of what was out there was too much of a risk and he was never going to let Alex suffer what she had already. "It would have been something to go travelling like you do."

"It ain’t our time to do that Vin." Chris quickly reminded him, not wishing the tracker to get any ideas. "Its theirs."

"It is a pity though," Jack understood where Vin was coming from. Before the Stargate program, Jack never believed exploration could ever fascinate him as it had during these past three years. There was an undeniable thrill in exploring the different worlds and meeting the people seeded throughout the stars from Earth’s past. "But Chris is right. This isn’t the time for it."

Vin let out a disappointed sigh and guessed it was just as well anyway. There were some things that should remain a mystery and he supposed this was just going to have to be one of them.

* * *

Upon returning to the Sumerian Stargate, the visitors promptly returned home to Earth and found their friends keeping a vigil on the portal there, waiting for their arrival. Following the happy salutations and greetings that followed, Chris reminded the others there was still work to do before they could return home to Four Corners. The SG1 team did not waste time upon returning to the abandoned bunker and began setting up the charges that would level the entire structure with nothing left standing to give anyone a clue of what was here. The bodies of the workmen and the archaeological team they had not buried or found at the time, were left where they were for a story had to be manufactured to keep anyone else from attempting another excavation that might uncover the gate.

The lawmen from Four Corners were eager to help the SG1 team set up the C4 charges throughout the structure, wanting to eliminate the threat it posed not only to the future but to the alarming possibility the Goa’uld might come through the gate. After witnessing first hand what the creatures were capable of, no one wanted a repeat of what had transpired here with Mary and Alex. Although Vin was disappointed the gate with its possibilities, was to be buried under a ton of earth, he could appreciate the need to protect themselves and said nothing when the last explosives were put into place and the timer was finally set.

With a twenty-minute margin to allow the SG1 team to leave and the lawmen to get to the minimum safe distance of the blast radius when the charges finally detonated, it was time for everyone concerned to vacate the bunker that was the cause of so much trouble. As Teal'c began dialling the address for the Nox home world, the rest of SG1 made their goodbyes to the friends they made in this time.

"I guess this is it." Jack said extending a hand towards Chris. 

Chris returned the handshake firmly and with more warmth than it was customary for him to show. However, after what they had been through together, it was difficult for Chris to consider Jack O’Neill as anything but a friend.

"I guess so," Chris nodded and a pause followed since neither man were really the talkative type. However after the lapse of silence, Chris added. "You gonna be okay?"

Jack looked up at him and then at Daniel who dropped his gaze to his feet to hide the smile that stole across his face. Chris could not have known after the Abydos mission, it was the last thing Daniel had said to Jack who had come on the mission to die. When Daniel asked the question, it was the first time Jack realised he could actually go on with his life, even after losing his son.

"Yeah," the colonel replied. "I think so. You take care of that lady of yours."

Chris nodded. "I’ll do that."

In the meantime, Vin who had said his goodbyes to Teal’c took a moment to say the same to Daniel Jackson who was instrumental in bringing Alex and Mary back to themselves. "I sure hope you find your wife Daniel."

"I hope so too." Daniel smiled. "Seeing how you got your Alex back gives me some hope for Sharee when I find her." It was true, he felt renewed optimism at retrieving Sharee and freeing her from the Goa’uld spell she was under, after what he saw in Thor’s mountain.

"I’m glad." Vin said with sincere hope that Daniel would indeed find his wife some day. Vin would be saddened to think she was lost to Daniel but supposed he would never really know for sure after Daniel and his friends stepped through the gate and returned to the future.

"Its time to go," Sam announced, ushering them out of the path of the gate as the final chevron was locked into place. No sooner than after they scattered, the familiar lightshow of the wormhole’s formation rocked the bunker and illuminated the darkened structure with its iridescent glow. Once the portal was stabilized and the others said their goodbyes, Jack and Teal’c stepped through the gate and disappeared from view, quickly followed by Daniel who was bidding Josiah farewell. The two had been embroiled in some interesting theological discussions ever since they met and Sam wondered who would miss the repartee more. She was about to take herself towards the gate when suddenly she heard Buck call.

"Hey, Doctor Carter." He said coming towards her as she saw Daniel go through. Sam found herself smiling as she turned to the lawman who was the one she would miss the most when she left this place. She had not intended making a lengthy farewell but guess she had no choice now.

"You weren’t going to just leave like that were you?" Buck asked when he caught up with her.

"Well we don’t have a lot of time," Sam glanced at her watch and then back to his face again. "In ten minutes, this place is going to go up like fireworks."

"We got enough time for this." Buck said and lowered his lips to hers and delivered a lingering kiss of goodbye. Amazingly enough, Sam found she did not mind as she kissed him back and thought absurdly as she was doing so, she was glad the colonel and the others were already gone.

"That was nice." She smiled at him as they parted.

"It was." Buck nodded and took her hand and delivered another smaller kiss to her palm. "You take care of yourself, Major."

She flashed him a smile as she drew away, looking nothing like a soldier but a very intriguing woman he would have like to have known for longer, if the world were not as crazy as it was for the two of them right now.

"That’s a hell of a lady." Josiah commented as he waved goodbye to her.

"She sure is." Buck whispered softly and was still staring at her, when Samantha Carter disappeared out of his life seemingly forever.


	10. Happy Endings

  
As promised by SG1, there was not much left when the dust cleared.   
  
The bunker, the sarcophagus and most importantly the stargate was buried under a ton of rubble after the explosive charges placed by the SG1 team did its worst. They watched from a distance as a tidal wave of soil and rock was ejected into the air with a column of fire that left no doubt as to the totality of the destruction. The impact of the tremendous roar felt like a force of nature and the horses had been properly terrified by detonation. When the thunderous noise finally died down and the jets of fire dwindled into smoke, all that was left in the wake of the fiery discharge was a smouldering crater. To the casual observer, it could be believed this entire site was the unfortunate victim of an earthquake.

Certainly, it was a more plausible explanation than the truth.   
  
When they returned to the site on horseback, they found Jack O'Neill was correct that there would be nothing to find. All that remained were the dishevelled layers of soil and dirt which would  eventually be smoothed back into place by the harsh windstorms rumbling across this land. In a week or two, it would look no different from any other parcel of land in the Territory. The bunker and everything in it would fade into obscurity. The truth would only be known to the seven lawmen of Four Corners and if God was good, not to the two women who was the centre of the storm they just passed through.   
  
Neither Mary nor Alex had come out of their deep sleep but Chris and Vin were not overly concerned about it. Sam Carter told them the ejection of a Goa'uld was an exhausting process on the body and many of the life functions normal to humans would have to readjust to life without the symbiote. They would wake up eventually but for the moment it was better to let them recover from their ordeal.

Chris had a feeling the real battle would begin when they woke up.   
  
Vin was grateful to learn from Buck no ‘breeding’ took place  between Alex and Ezra because of the state they found the gambler. Even though the tracker was resolved to let nothing get in the way of his happiness at having Alex back, especially in a matter where she was powerless to stop Isis from using her body, he was nonetheless glad to hear it. He was sure if Alex retained such memories, she would not be able to tolerate it either. While she was hardly a prude, Vin suspected even she would have difficulty knowing her body was used in this way.   
  
Chris on the other hand, was more concerned about how he would explain Mary's behaviour to the town and decided he was going to have to fabricate a good story, not only for the good citizens of Four Corners but also for Billy. His mother's actions at the onset of this nightmare had left the child in a thoroughly confused state and Chris had no idea what he would say to the boy. It was one thing to speak an untruth to the town because the reality was too fantastic to be believed, but it was another thing entirely to lie to a child.   
  
They returned to town in the dead of night and no one noticed their arrival, which was just as well. Chris took Mary straight home and lay her in her bedroom, letting her sleep, hoping things would be better the next morning, even though he seriously doubted it.   
  


* * *

  
He woke up and found her staring at the mirror.   
  
Vin was asleep in the wing chair in Alex's bedroom, too afraid to leave her after what he had been through to bring her back to him. He brought her home to her bed and removed the dress worn by Isis, telling himself to burn the thing so she would never have to see it again. Sheepishly, Vin realized he had no idea what she wore to bed because she was never dressed when they shared their nights together, although she did take to wearing some of his shirts. Vin thought with a faint smile how he loved it when she wore them because her scent would cling to it all day and he never tired of it. Rummaging through her things and reminding himself he was after all her fiance so, he was permitted to go through her things, he found a nightdress he could not imagine her wearing.   
  
It did not take him long to realize shortly after he placed her in the sheets of her bed her sleep was anything but restful. Thus he remained in her room but at a safe distance, not wishing to overwhelm her with his presence but reluctant to leave her alone either. Nathan dropped by and stitched up her injured hand, all without her knowing he was even there. The healer was just as concerned about Alex being on her own and actually insisted Vin stay, promising Rain would take over the vigil in the morning.   
  
He woke up when he heard movement and shifted his eyes immediately to her bed, feeling some measure of alarm when he saw it was empty. It took a further second for him to deduce where she had gone when he saw her standing in front of her full-length mirror, staring into it. Vin rose to his feet quietly, uncertain of what she was doing, only aware she was examining her reflection rather closely. As he neared her, she did not react to his approach even though Vin was certain she was aware of him. She glanced sideways long enough to register his presence before looking into the mirror once more.   
  
"Alex." He spoke, breaking the silence creeping under his skin.   
  
She did not answer but as he finally reached close enough to be standing next to her, he realized she was tracing the skin of her face with her finger as if searching for some flaw or mark he could not fathom. Only when he was close enough to touch her did Alex finally manage a response.   
  
"I can touch my face." She whispered.   
  
He did not understand the significance but could appreciate she was extremely distressed. After what she had been through, it was only natural.   
  
"Yeah, you can." He said because it seemed the safest answer all around.

“I wasn’t sure I could make my hands work,” she answered and Vin understood immediately what she meant.  

“She’s gone Alex,” Vin said softly. “It’s just you in there now, I promise.”    
  
"I wasn't sure." She swallowed. "I don't feel her inside me any more but she's not gone."   
  
Vin was immediately filled with alarm at that statement. Daniel assured him Alex would be free of Isis. What new twist was this? "What do you mean?"   
  
Realizing what he was construing from that statement, Alex, corrected herself immediately. "You don't understand." She responded, shifting her attention from her reflection and faced him. "I see things in my head," she stammered. "Vague pictures I don't understand but I know they're hers."   
  
Well Daniel did warn him about that, Vin was forced to admit. The memories would not be gone with the symbiote. Vin prayed she would be free of that particular horror but it looked like it was not meant to be. "You'll be getting that for awhile darlin’," he said honestly, having no wish to lie to her about this. He took a step towards Alex only to have her back away from him like she was terrified.   
  
"I don't want to hurt you." She warned, genuine terror in her eyes.   
  
"You can't hurt me Alex," Vin quickly answered, feeling a thousand knives in his heart by just the look of desolation on her face. She remembered a great deal more than she ought he realized, including what Isis had done in the bunker before leaving for the other world. "It wasn't you that hurt me. It was her and she's dead."   
  
"I couldn't stop her!" Alex wailed, the wafer thin wall of composure holding in her emotions shattered when that memory surfaced. "I tried to warn you because I knew she was going to hurt you! But I wasn't strong enough! I screamed and screamed but you couldn’t hear me!" Alex's voice started to break. "Oh God Vin, I saw her kill you!" She finally exploded into tears and crumbled to the floor. "I watched her use my hands to kill you!"   
  
"I'm all right darlin'." Vin was on his knees in front of her before she could resume her heart wrenching sobs. "I'm here and you ain't gonna hurt me are you? You're a doctor Alex and I can't think of anything worse for you to have been trapped with that thing in control of you but she's gone and you’re still here. It’s your body again and your life. She’s dead, we saw to that!" He implored, trying to convince her he blamed her for nothing and it was not her fault what had happened.   
  
"Oh Vin!" She wept even harder than before, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sobbed into the crook of his shoulder, drawing comfort from the one person who could make this all better. "I wanted to kill her so badly for what she did to you but I was trapped! I couldn’t do anything! I wanted to make her feel pain for all the things she made me do, all the terrible, terrible things! "   
  
Then remembering what state Isis had last seen Ezra, Alex's eyes widened. "Ezra! Oh God Vin, Ezra..."   
  
"Ezra's fine." Vin whispered in her ear while running his palm over her hair, stroking it slowly so it would  soothe her.   
  
"You didn't see," she spoke through her tears. "You didn't see what Sekhmet did to him. My God! You didn't see how she tortured him!"   
  
Vin felt his stomach hollow at the idea of torture and remembered what Buck said about the condition they had found Ezra. If it were not for the sarcophagus that saved his life, Ezra would have died just as surely  as he had at Isis's hands.   
  
"He's okay now, Alex," Vin continued to convince her. "We put him in that sarcophagus...whatever it's called and it fixed him up. He's probably at the saloon now trying to trick some poor bastard out of his money."   
  
Alex shook her head, wiping her eyes long enough to know while Ezra's body was healed, his mind was another matter entirely.  No one went through what Ezra did and simply bounced back.

"No Vin." She swallowed, feeling some measure of strength returning to her while his arms were around her, offering support and comfort.   
  
"He's not fine, " she whispered softly. "I’m not sure he’ll ever be.”   
  


* * *

  
  
Mary slept peacefully.   
  
She dreamed of her son and of her home. She dreamed of the man who crossed space and untold distances to find her and she was content. Of course no sleep is ever completely peaceful and no dream ever fully pleasant. The memory of the other mind  lingered but Sekhmet's power over her was gone. Still, despite her elusive memories, there were random images appearing that made her tremble with cold fear. There were moments of lucidity where she was aware the thing inside her was insane and had a thirst for blood that made her skin crawl with revulsion.   
  
While it would have been easy to become lost in Sekhmet's dementia, only one thing kept Mary Travis Larabee anchored to reality and that was  Chris.

She was aware of his struggles and the fight to bring her back to him. It was the only thing that made any sense to her when she was trapped in the delirium of Sekhmet's insanity. Mary supposed it was a kindness she remembered very little about what the woman did while wearing her skin. Mary was aware of some violence directed at Ezra Standish and knew Sekhmet had particular hatred for Chris. Perhaps in some ways, she wanted him and could not imagine how he would love the host instead of the Goa'uld in residence.   
  
When she woke from her black sleep, Mary found herself in her bedroom, in the house she shared with Chris. Outside, she could see the sun shining brightly with the promise of a beautiful day. She took a deep breath, savouring the feel of cool air in her lungs and more importantly, the ability to take it of her own free will, with no invader commanding how her body should act. Mary was grateful that much of her memories were fragmented because Sekhmet had been a vile creature indeed. Still, Mary sensed the goddess had not always been this way.   
  
There was enough left inside Mary to believe Sekhmet was once truly the warrior goddess. She used her considerable skill as a warrior as  a tool of conquest, not as an instrument of torture.    
  
Mary was uncertain of what had happened to Sekhmet to change her from a soldier to a butcher,  but the turmoil she sensed inside Sekhmet's mind as more and more of the Goa'uld began to unravel, would have ultimately destroyed them both. There was a part of Mary that would never shake the residual effects of Sekhmet inside her.

Even now she ached in a dozen places from wounds she knew Chris inflicted upon her himself. Mary felt no anger towards him as she felt the tenderness in her jaw and in her throat. He saved her from more than just death and for that Mary could forgive him anything, least of all some bruises time would take care of eventually.   
  
She wondered where Billy was and shifted  on the mattress before noticing there was familiar warmth lying beside her. Chris was asleep next to her. By the looks of it, he had put her to bed and then collapsed beside her in sheer exhaustion, fully clothed over the covers. For a moment, she merely looked at him, reveling in the sight of his slumber as the hardened gunslinger she knew and loved, was nowhere in sight. All she could see was the man who was willing to sacrifice his soul to see to it that hers was safe.

She lay next to him again, stroking the dark gold strands of his hair, relishing the feel of just being with him this morning and felt a swell of gladness knowing it would be the same for every morning for the rest of her life.   
  
He stirred at her touch and lifted his eyelids to meet her gaze. Mary smiled at him and continued running her fingers against his hair, feeling her heart fill with love and telling him in her own way everything was all right, that she was his again. He reached for her hand and cupped it with his own, feeling the smooth texture against his skin as he blinked slowly, composing himself. She could see the emotion welling up in his eyes, the blue green pieces of jade, filling with tears knowing he had not lost her.

For the past two days, he had been fighting to remain strong because his friends needed a leader and he needed to keep himself together to get her back. However, those walls came tumbling down now he had done all that was required of him. Chris was finally able to be swept away by the currents of his emotions and the intense gratitude of having his wife back.   
  
"Christ Mary," he said softly, letting warm tears spill down his cheeks because he had not believed it until this moment he had not lost her like he had lost Sarah. Even with his killing Sekhmet, Chris had not known or believed any of it was real until this precise moment. "I thought....I thought.."   
  
"Hush Chris," she wrapped him in her arms and held him there. "I'm home now. You didn't fail me. You brought me home."   
  
He composed himself on the reassurance of those words and calmed down, still uncomfortable after all the months of marriage to show her he could be vulnerable. Had Chris bothered to ask, he would have discovered Mary was well aware of this but allowed him his dignity, because he was after all a man and men were never as wise about these things as they should be.

"Are you okay?" He asked. It would take a long time for him to forget Sekhmet but as long as Chris could look into Mary's eyes and see the woman he loved, he could stand anything.   
  
"There are pieces of her that I remember," Mary confessed, trying to make sense out of the maelstrom that was Sekhmet's mind. "There was so much anger and hatred inside of her. Most of it is a jumble. I know she did something terrible to Ezra because there are moments where I can remember him screaming but it feels so far away."   
  
"Ezra was hurt bad." Chris explained, grateful that she would not remember.

Daniel and Sam had said that this might happen. The Goa'uld held control of a body by sheer force of will and while Sekhmet had certainly possessed that quality and some, her reason was flawed and her mind was damaged. Possibly it was why Isis and Sekhmet had been battling when they had stormed the fortress on Netjer to retrieve both women. While Sam remembered something of the Goa'uld that took her body, she had not retain many of the memories unless specifically drawn out by the technology of the future. With Sekhmet's state of mind, she had not believed Mary would remember much of her experience and Chris was never more grateful of that, than at this instance.   
  
"I don't know how he'll take seeing me." Mary answered, wondering how Ezra would react to her, particularly if she had caused him the pain she believed she did.   
  
While she remembered his screams and her presence during his torture, she recalled nothing of what she had done and the truth was, it had not been her that caused Ezra's ordeal but Sekhmet. Still, Ezra would undoubtedly look at her face and see his torturer and Mary had no idea how to take that.   
  
"Its best you stay away for awhile." Chris advised, unable to think of anything else that could be done for the moment. He had not had the chance to see the gambler himself and nothing could be decided until that meeting took place.   
  
Until he saw Ezra's eyes, Chris could not know for certain how Ezra fared following his ordeal. He only knew his advice was the most prudent course of action to take for now.   


* * *

  
  
Ezra kept to himself for most of the day.

Even though he was physically in good health, he continued to hide inside Julia's house, not wishing to see anyone. He knew eventually, he would have to leave and face the reality he was home again and the nightmare of the past two days was exactly that, in the past. He wished more than ever Julia was home because he needed her now more than ever and hated the fact that he was angry she was absent. Even though J.D. and Nathan had left him at his lodgings, Ezra had sneaked away to lose himself in Julia's home, aware she would not mind him being here while she was gone.   
  
He sat behind her desk and thumbed through the books she had on the shelf, fingering in silent contemplation the pages of Dickens which she loved so much, without reading a word of it. The memory of what had happened to him preyed heavily on his mind and Ezra knew where he was going to end up if he did not snap out of his melancholic state. He did not want to live his life playing the victim. He was not a victim and yes, he suffered brutal tortures under the ministrations of the demon wearing Mary Larabee's face but as Ezra told himself a hundred times since it had happened, it was not her fault.   
  
She was not responsible for what happened.   
  
The creature using her body to commit such atrocities was dead. Chris Larabee had put a bullet in it himself Vin assured him, when the tracker had stopped by earlier that day to see if he was all right. In fact, all the others had done the same thing, just dropping in to say hello or seeing how he was doing. Ezra hated the attention and he hated it even more it was his behaviour prompting this response from his friends.   
  
It was almost nightfall when he heard the door knock and wondered who it could be now. Ezra did not want anyone other than his close friends to know that he was in residence here because it would do Julia's reputation no good to have people know she was entertaining an unmarried man in her home. Grumbling as he went to the back door, he pulled it open and found himself standing before Mary Larabee. 

For a moment, he did not know what to do or say to her. The most obvious reaction was to pull out his gun and shoot but as he saw her staring at him, her eyes filled with sorrow at the pain he was feeling, Ezra could not associate her with the woman who nearly tortured him to death.   
  
"Ezra can I come in?" She asked, still standing at the door.   
  
"No." He shook his head.   
  
"Ezra please," Mary implored. "I am sorry for what happened to you." Her blue grey eyes filled with tears and suddenly, Ezra understood what people meant when they said she had eyes like a dove. She did at that. One could drown in the hope that lay within the depths of those azurite pools. He suddenly had an insight into why Chris loved her so much. Ezra could have loved her himself, actually he did, just not in the way that Chris did.   
  
"Mary," Ezra swallowed, never thinking these words could be so hard to say but somehow in these last few seconds of staring at her at the back porch, seeing her with all the compassion in the world in her eyes, it escaped his lips with no difficulty at all. Suddenly, he was no longer speaking from his mind but from his heart. "I thought I would never again be able to view your face without envisioning the brutality I suffered at that creature's hands but at this moment, I feel myself locked in a paradox of sorts. I remember your face when I see her but I look at you now and I see no sign of her, just the friend you have always been."   
  
Mary let out a sigh of relief but did not delude herself into believing that this was over. "I'm glad Ezra. I can't remember fully what she did to you but seeing your reaction now makes me glad I don't. I cannot take away the pain she used me to inflict upon you but I can stay out of your way as much as I can until you feel we can be friends again."   
  
Ezra did not want that at all. He closed his eyes and steeled himself to follow her as she started to turn away. 

"Mary," he called out and forced the lady to face him again. "I do not wish that. Your friendship has been one of the brightest things in my life since my dreary existence in this place began. It will not be easy for me in the coming months, I envision we both have experiences of this entire affair neither would like to recall. However, I do not wish to compound my misery by chasing away one of the few friends I have."   
  
"Ezra are you sure?" Mary looked at him, taking his hands in hers as she met his eyes. "I know it is hard for you..."   
  
"It is hard Mary," Ezra confessed. "More than you will ever know but I cannot allow her to defeat me yet again. You are my friend dear lady, one that has always stood up for me when I required it the  most. I do not take such things lightly and I do not forget it when it becomes inconvenient. Whatever demons plague me, will do so whether or not I see you on a daily basis or not at all. I will have to overcome them either way."   
  
Mary wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek. "You are a scoundrel and a con man Ezra Standish," she said with a smile. "But you are a gentleman and I am honoured to call you my friend."   
  
The months ahead would require much healing not only for himself but also for Mary and Alex but they would get through it. 

Somehow.    
  


* * *

**SGC COMMAND**   
  
Five months later...   
  
Daniel Jackson could only stare at her.   
  
He could not feel anything as he saw her lying on the slab, her skin turning grey from the cold surroundings of the refrigeration units used to keep bodies fresh before they were shipped to whatever burial their particular faith required. He supposed he would have to be responsible for making the arrangements to have her brought back to Abydos. The least he could do was to ensure that she had a proper burial. He owed her father that much at least. When she was first taken, Daniel promised Kasuf he would bring her home some day. He supposed he had not failed entirely. 

He was returning her home, just not alive.   
  
There was a well of tears inside Daniel Jackson poised on the edge of bursting in a torrent of grief. He could no longer remember how long he stood by her side, watching her in her eternal sleep, knowing finally she was free even if that freedom offered him no comfort. Instead, he studied her closely, examining the small changes the Goa'uld who had possession of her body, made over the years. Her hair was cut and styled, which he hated.  Daniel always loved running his fingers through her wild locks, savouring the simple joy of watching her brush it at night, during that blissful year when she had been his wife. He remembered the delicate movement as she ran her brush made of bone and animal hair through the luxurious strands, its lustre bouncing off the dark mane.   
  
Daniel did not even notice when he started to weep.   
  
Sharee was dead. For three years, he prayed and dreamed of having her with him again. He lay awake at nights, knowing one day the endless journeys through the gate would lead him to her. In a way it had brought her to him except the Goa'uld inside of her would not let that reunion be a happy one. He did not blame Teal'c for doing what was necessary even though by rights he should be angry because the Jaffa had killed his wife. However, Sharee's beast was hell bent on killing him and Teal'c had no choice but to act to save his life. Daniel drew small comfort from the fact Sharee had somehow managed to say her goodbyes in the last few seconds before she was finally granted the freedom she so desperately needed.   
  
_ I love you Daniel. _ __   
  
Those had been her last words to him. Even as the life bled out of her, he was the last thing in her heart. He had just enough time to make that same declaration before she slipped away and the light in her eyes faded forever. He remained lying next to her on the floor of the tent where she died, until the others found him and took them both home.   
  
"Daniel." Sam stepped into the room. There were tears in her eyes as she took up position next to him. She reached for his hand and held it tightly, knowing no one should have to be alone at a time like this. "Are you okay?" She asked softly, feeling her heart go out to him as she saw the tears behind those steel rimmed glasses and immediately scolded herself because it was a stupid, stupid question. 

His wife was dead. How could he be okay?   
  
"She's free." Daniel whispered as he looked at Sam and allowed her to take him in her embrace as the tears started to come more freely.   
  
It wasn't a happy ending but at least for Sharee, the nightmare was over. 

She was free.    


 

  
 ****  
THE END  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
